Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Blood (Madonna del Sangue), at Ré. A church of pilgrimage, which originated from a small church dedicated to San Marizio.
Legand has it that, in 1494, two small boys were playing a ball game in which a short wooden stick was used to hit a coin, and one of the boys lost.
In a fit of temper, he threw his coin in the face of the Madonna painted on the wall of the church, whence blood started pouring out of the painting
and didn't stop for 20 days. Immediately, an altar was built in front of the image. The church was expanded between 1606 and 1628, incorporating the image.
In 1894, on the 400th anniversary of the miracle, it was decided to build an even grander edifice, and in 1958 the sanctuary was designated a Basilica Minore.
Scientific tests have concluded that the residual marks on the fresco are indeed blood.