The miracle of the Madonna del Fuoco

The devotion to the Madonna del Fuoco began in 1428, when the miracle happened that many people from Forlì witnessed. In the night between February 4th and 5th a fire broke out and destroyed a school situated in the present Cobelli street, where today there is the small church of the Miracle. Lombardino da Riopetroso had been teaching at that school for a few weeks.

Not much is known about this teacher: he had arrived in Forlì at the beginning of that year from Valbona, a village between Bagno di Romagna and Santa Sofia, and had taught his pupils not only to read and write but also to pray in front of the image of the Madonna that was in the school. It was precisely a woodcut, that is, a printed drawing depicting the Madonna surrounded by many Saints. Those students are also remembered in the famous hymn dedicated to the Madonna del Fuoco entitled "La vida fiamma" composed in 1928 by two important priests from Forlì, Monsignor Adamo Pasini and Monsignor Giuseppe Prati, more familiarly known as Don Pippo, which is still sung today on the occasion of the feast day and which reads: "Of lively children, in remote times, the crowd gathered in a humble school, with devout hymns, with sweet words under the name of Mother, prayed to you".

When the school burned down, the citizens realized with amazement that the image of the Madonna had remained intact, it had not burned and was not even blackened by the smoke. A few days later, on February 8, the image was carried in procession to the nearby Cathedral and placed first next to the high altar, then in the chapel that was dedicated to it and where it is still found today. Over the centuries, the people of Forlì have flocked to the Madonna not only on the occasion of the feast day dedicated to her (February 4th), but also whenever they have faced difficulties and dangers, such as during wars and earthquakes, entrusting themselves to her as Mother and Patroness.

Nowadays, on February 4th, the streets around the Cathedral are filled with stalls selling the typical piadina of the "Madonna del Fuoco", which differs from the traditional piadina because it is sweet and spiced with aniseed.