On the banks of Superiore Lake, at 7 km from the city of Mantua, there is a sanctuary famous for its beauty and mysteries: the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The building presents works of "high" art, such as Bazzani’s and Bonsignori’s paints, but its unquestionable highlight is the voluminous wooden Scaffold, with 53 statues made up of different matters and gaudy colours representing, mostly, more ancient votive offerings for Mother Mary.
A Crocodile hanged at the nave’s ceiling completes this place’s peculiar atmosphere.

Every year, at Ferragosto (August 15), the "Fiera delle Grazie" takes place. It is a mix of sacred and profane, an enormous art laboratory in the open air and a strong call to traditions for Mantua inhabitants.
On the occasion of this event, there is the well-known Competition of Madonnari (painters of sacred images), who work day and night to realise their works on the asphalt of the sanctuary’s church square.