Holy Mary Ladder to Paradise
Noto, Sicily, Italy (1498)
According to local tradition, angels frescoed the image of the Madonna, Ladder to Paradise, on a rock wall in the countryside and that it was discovered there on August 3, 1498. The Diocese of Noto, of which the Madonna della Scala is patron saint, suggests that an unknown artist created the fresco in the late 1500s.
By the time an earthquake destroyed Noto in 1693, popular devotion had grown and lamps and an oratory surrounded the image.
The quake demolished the chapdel, but the image remained in tact. In 1708, a group of Carmelite hermits built another church and the image was placed there. With a reputation for healings and other miracles, the hermitage became a place of pilgrimage.