The Sanctuary of Our Lady Illuminated in Vivaro Romano sits on the hill of Santa Maria, approximately 3 km from the town centre.
Although the date of its foundation remains unknown, its origins are very old. It certainly dates back to before the 13th Century as the Sanctuary was mentioned in a papal bull by Pope Urban IV in 1262.
Tradition has it that the Sanctuary was built thanks to the fortunate and accidental finding of a sacred image of Our Lady, now kept within the church. It’s origins can allegedly be traced as far back as the 8th Century and the iconoclastic period. As all sacred images were being systematically destroyed at that time, it is said that in order to save this image, the people of Vivaro hid the artwork in a place called "Li Pantani", leaving people to believe it had been destroyed.
This act was forgotten over time and, just when the people were about to procure another image of Our Lady, a dazzling beam of light guided the people of Vivaro to the secret place. Following this miraculous event, the sacred image of Our Lady was renamed Our Lady Illuminated. 
In memory of this event, the feast of Our Lady Illuminated has been celebrated on 5th August since 1856: on the night between the 5th and the 6th, a suggestive procession lit by torches and light-filled windows is held in memory of that fortunate happening. 
It is impossible to establish the truth of this story, or even to be certain that the origins of the worship of Our Lady can be traced back to the 8th Century. Despite this, it has been established that the primitive image of Our Lady dates back to the 13th Century and this allows us to recognize that Vivaro has worshipped Our Lady from a very early date, at least from that Century.
It was possible to establish historical and artistic information and the age of the image thanks to restoration work carried out in 1952: a significant, 17th-century intervention had literally covered up the original portrayal. A canvas depicting the same subject, Our Lady with Child in her arms, had been placed over the original painting.
The canvas was removed and is now kept in the Sanctuary. Restoration work brought the 13th-century painting to light, giving Vivaro a fragment of its history back, whilst giving at least some credit to rumours of a tradition that is difficult to historically ascertain.