In 1743 the monks decided to leave the monastery and move to a new one built near Airola , and the decision was approved in 1753 by Brancone , State Secretary of the Kingdom of Naples . The people of Moiano and Bucciano protested to Charles III of Spain and later , in 1779 , to Ferdinand IV , arguing that the state of neglect claimed by the Dominicans was a mere need of maintenance , and that architectural elements had been taken from the sanctuary and used in the newly-built convent . Ferdinand IV ordered the monks to celebrate mass daily at their own expense , but this did not stop the progressive decline of the structure.p .32 In 1890 the priest of a Bucciano parish and the mayor of the town began promoting efforts to restore the sanctuary . Camillo Siciliano di Rende , archbishop of Benevento at the time , made the first solemn pilgrimage in 1891 . p. 52 The following year structural reinforcement works were conducted , and further restorations occurred in 1925 , with financial aid by Bucciano people who had emigrated to the United States.p .37 The sanctuary was damaged by the 1930 Irpinia earthquake , being again restored thanks to donations by migrants of the area , and by the 1980 Irpinia earthquake . After the latter , a new period of neglect started.p .39 The bishop of the Diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant ’ Agata de ’ Goti appointed in 1998 , Michele de Rosa , pushed for a collaboration of his diocese , the parish and the '' comune '' of Bucciano for the recovery of the sanctuary . Along with the province of Benevento administration , the three parties restored several parts of the sanctuary at the beginning of the 2000s . The current church was inaugurated in November 2007 . p. 42 In the anterior part of the structure there is a portico with three round arches , preceded by a wide limestone stairway . The bell tower once had four floors , but the last floor was demolished during restoration works . Near the buildings composing the sanctuary is the cave where the statue of the Virgin Mary was found.p . 61p . 35 The church has a rectangular nave , whose length is double its width . The ceiling has two gothic-style rib vaults , held by two pillars . The baked clay floor is the only remaining part of the original church , and is composed of octagonal paving stones of different colours . In the church there were five altars , but only the main one remains , having been restored according to records describing the original layout.pp . 32-35p . 62 The appearance of the cloister , located in the middle of the complex , has changed after restoration works . It used to be on two levels , but one has been closed and an oculus gives light to the lower floor . A wing of the cloister is now integral part of the convent , which is on two levels and is L-shaped . On its upper floor are the cells of the monks , upon whose doors are lunettes depicting different Dominican saints . The lower floor included the kitchen , the refectory and the water cisterns.pp . 32-35p . 63 The sanctuary is the main tourism draw of Bucciano , attracting Marian devotees from the surroundings . The main pilgrimage to the sanctuary is held on Divine Mercy Sunday . Due to the popularity of the sanctuary Pope Sixtus V allowed women to enter the sanctuary four times a year . To the sanctuary , and to the Virgin Mary effigies it holds , several prodigies are attributed . A group of deaf people from the region visits the sanctuary annually
1930 Irpinia earthquake
1930 Irpinia earthquake
Sanctuary of the Virgin of Taburnus