‘We just want to know what happened’
Search underway for century-old painting missing from Stamford church
STAMFORD — Once a year, descendants from the small Italian village of Settefrati gather in Stamford to pay tribute to their ancestral hometown.
At the center of the celebration stands a massive, 6-foot painting depicting a young shepherdess kneeling in prayer side-by-side with an angel before the Lady Madonna.
But this year, when the time for the annual Mass to honor La Madonna di Canneto (Our Lady of Canneto) came around, the painting was nowhere to be found.
“I was hoping that it had just been moved somewhere. But we searched the whole church, and we couldn’t find it,” said Antonia D’Amico, president of the Madonna Di Canneto Society in Stamford.
The painting, which sits on a raised altar decorated with flower arrangements during the Mass, has been the centerpiece for the celebration since 1931, when the Settefratese Social Club — the host of the Mass — was founded in Stamford.
During the celebration, people often kneel before the painting, which is in homage to a local legend in the greater Lazio region, and say silent prayers. After the Mass, many can be seen taking photos in front of the painting.
D’Amico said she and other members of the club were shocked when they learned the antique painting was missing from its home inside the Sacred Heart Church in Stamford when they were preparing for the annual Mass last weekend.
The painting originates in an old legend told by the townspeople of Settefrati, which is located in the Province of Frosinone, about 75 miles east of Rome.
According to the legend, one day a shepherdess was leading her flock of sheep through a valley in the region
when she was greeted by an apparition of the Mother Mary, who came bearing a mission for the young girl.
The apparition told the shepherdess to go immediately to the archpriest of Settefrati and tell him that “the mother of God” wants a church dedicated to her in the valley. The child replied, however, that she could not leave her sheep there, since there was no water in the area.
The legend goes that in response, the woman touched a nearby rocky cliff and water began to gush out. That previously nonexistent water source eventually became the Melfa River, or so legend says.
Legend has it that the miracle spurred the people of Settefrati to build the Sanctuary of Canneto, which still draws visitors from around the world.
D’Amico said that when Settafratese immigrants started coming over to America between World War I and World War II, a large contingent of them banded together and, in a nod to their heritage, pitched in together to purchase the painting.
“These were all first generation immigrants, so they really had to nickel-anddime and pool their money together in order to buy the painting,” she said.
The painting has since become a sort of linchpin for their community. That’s why when D’Amico learned the painting was missing last weekend, she said her heart sank.
She said she has filed a police report for the missing the painting, but she hopes it can be recovered without any lengthy investigations.
“Please help us find it,” she said in a plea to the public. “The painting just means so much to our community and we just want to know what happened. It’s been with us for a very long time, and it’s very meaningful to us. … It’s not about the money, it’s about what it means to us.”
The Stamford Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit is investigating the missing painting.
Anyone with any information about the missing painting is asked to contact police at 203-977-4407.