1
00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,840
Speaker 1: Every river has a source, a point of origin from

2
00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:19,079
Speaker 1: which it all begins. Sometimes it can be large, like

3
00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:23,520
Speaker 1: a glacier or a lake, or sometimes it is formed

4
00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:28,600
Speaker 1: from a tiny babbling spring. Other times, like in the

5
00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,680
Speaker 1: case of the River Churchina in Italy, it begins on

6
00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,280
Speaker 1: the slope of a mountain, formed over time from what

7
00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,879
Speaker 1: starts as just a few drops of rain, landing like

8
00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:45,080
Speaker 1: tears onto rock and earth, sliding down the surface in gentle,

9
00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:51,440
Speaker 1: silent rivulets. Gradually the rivulets converge or collect in pools,

10
00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,680
Speaker 1: spilling over, finally as gravity takes hold, and now a

11
00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,720
Speaker 1: stream is beginning to gush down the mountain side, ever

12
00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:05,039
Speaker 1: increasing in size and intensity. As more and more streams

13
00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:09,440
Speaker 1: collide into one another, creating pathways in the landscape for

14
00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:15,320
Speaker 1: later rains to follow, and as these pathways converge into one,

15
00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:20,360
Speaker 1: it deepens and grows wider, until from what began as

16
00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,800
Speaker 1: only a few drops of rain, an entire river has emerged.

17
00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:29,800
Speaker 1: For the dark, silty waters of the River Churchina, this

18
00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:36,000
Speaker 1: process begins somewhere in the Callina Metallifera, or the metalliferous

19
00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,520
Speaker 1: hills in western Tuscany, where two waterways converge in the

20
00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:45,959
Speaker 1: province of Grosseto to form the Churchina. From there it

21
00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:51,000
Speaker 1: meanders gently west through the pale Tuscan countryside all the

22
00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,200
Speaker 1: way to the small coastal town of Chechina, the river's namesake,

23
00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:59,320
Speaker 1: in the province of Livuano, where its waters flow out

24
00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,400
Speaker 1: into the Lago Urian Sea. And it is from there

25
00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:08,120
Speaker 1: one quiet morning sometime in the late nineteen forties that

26
00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,200
Speaker 1: a local sculptor makes his way towards the banks of

27
00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,320
Speaker 1: the river to the east of the town and begins

28
00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:20,040
Speaker 1: his working day. In the distance, rolling Tuscan hills as

29
00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:24,800
Speaker 1: steadily reddening under the rising sun, while birds cheap happily

30
00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,760
Speaker 1: in the scrub and a light breeze rustles the long grass.

31
00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:33,320
Speaker 1: As the sculptor carefully picks his way toward the river's edge.

32
00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:38,440
Speaker 1: Plunging his hands into the cool waters, he tears a

33
00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,400
Speaker 1: thick chunk of clay from its bed and pulls it

34
00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,640
Speaker 1: up above the surface. He plays with it in his hand,

35
00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,560
Speaker 1: testing it for consistency, watching as the water streams off,

36
00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:56,239
Speaker 1: dripping back into the river in thick, cloudy drops. Satisfied,

37
00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:02,040
Speaker 1: the sculptor, a man named amor Car Santini, set about

38
00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,960
Speaker 1: collecting as much sodden clay as he could, shoveling it

39
00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,120
Speaker 1: into a bucket before hauling it back to his studio

40
00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:14,440
Speaker 1: later that day. Back in his workshop, Santini begins the

41
00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,720
Speaker 1: laborious process of purifying the clay, then dissolving it in

42
00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:23,760
Speaker 1: water and filtering the resultant mixture numerous times through gauze,

43
00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:29,359
Speaker 1: with all impurities removed. What remains it's poured into a vat,

44
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,440
Speaker 1: where it is left for weeks as the clay steadily

45
00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,720
Speaker 1: separates from the water. Only then, when the time is right,

46
00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:50,320
Speaker 1: is it ready to be used. At first, Santini doesn't

47
00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,400
Speaker 1: quite know how to begin, as he takes a large

48
00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,520
Speaker 1: ball of the clay and tries to visualize the gentle

49
00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:00,600
Speaker 1: folds and contours of the shape it must become, when

50
00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,680
Speaker 1: suddenly he is struck by a sudden bout of inspiration.

51
00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,480
Speaker 1: Taking the clay, he begins to roll it between his palms,

52
00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:14,400
Speaker 1: feeling its damp plasticity as he teases it expertly into

53
00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:18,359
Speaker 1: shape with his fingers. It is a strange feeling that

54
00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,719
Speaker 1: has come over him. It's almost as if his hands

55
00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:27,280
Speaker 1: are being guided by some one else. First, he constructs

56
00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:31,520
Speaker 1: the torso before moving on to the arms and finally

57
00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:36,440
Speaker 1: what will be the figure's head begins to emerge on

58
00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:41,200
Speaker 1: He continues over the course of three days until finally

59
00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,839
Speaker 1: the piece is finished. As he sits back to admire

60
00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:50,000
Speaker 1: his work, what stands before him is a thirty centimeter

61
00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:55,279
Speaker 1: high bust of Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus. Her

62
00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,679
Speaker 1: body is clothed in a tunic and robe, while over

63
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,280
Speaker 1: a subtly bowed head sits a shroud, the folds of

64
00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:08,320
Speaker 1: each seeming almost to be in motion, so delicately have

65
00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:13,200
Speaker 1: they been crafted. The figures left hand grasps the opening

66
00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,599
Speaker 1: of her tunic, holding it back, while her right rests

67
00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:21,520
Speaker 1: on the striking image of her heart, which protrudes from

68
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,400
Speaker 1: her chest and has a finely carved flame shooting out

69
00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:30,080
Speaker 1: the top of it. The strangely macabre image is known

70
00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,839
Speaker 1: as the Immaculate Heart of Mary, an icon of the

71
00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,440
Speaker 1: Catholic Faith, with its prominently displayed heart serving as a

72
00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:42,200
Speaker 1: symbol for her undying love for God as it pertains

73
00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:48,320
Speaker 1: to the Catholic Faith and for all humankind. Santini had

74
00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:50,880
Speaker 1: been commissioned to make a version of it for a

75
00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,760
Speaker 1: company located in nearby Banyard Luca, who hope to mass

76
00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,120
Speaker 1: produce it as a religious effigy for people to hang

77
00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,360
Speaker 1: up in their home. It was the first of its

78
00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:06,360
Speaker 1: kind to be made by the well respected sculptor, whose

79
00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:11,080
Speaker 1: work wouldn't ordinarily be affordable for most people. Little did

80
00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,240
Speaker 1: anyone know that it would become just about the most

81
00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:19,000
Speaker 1: famous depiction of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ever created.

82
00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:32,920
Speaker 1: You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard McClean smith. Once finished,

83
00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,600
Speaker 1: Santini's sculpture was sent to a factory in Banyard, Luca,

84
00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,320
Speaker 1: where molds were made of it before being promptly added

85
00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,839
Speaker 1: to the production line. Over the next few years, hundreds

86
00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:50,040
Speaker 1: of copies of Santini's model were churned out cast from

87
00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,640
Speaker 1: a simple mix of plaster before being painted and then

88
00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,840
Speaker 1: mounted onto a forty by thirty centimeter block of black

89
00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:03,440
Speaker 1: opaline glass. In early nineteen fifty two, just one such

90
00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,360
Speaker 1: model emerged from the production line, no different from any

91
00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,280
Speaker 1: of the others that had come before it, with its

92
00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:14,440
Speaker 1: sad forlorn eyes painted sky blue in color to match

93
00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,720
Speaker 1: its robe, while its prominent heart was given a striking

94
00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:24,400
Speaker 1: scarlet hue after being coated in varnish and left to dry.

95
00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,760
Speaker 1: It along with a number of others, was boxed up

96
00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,240
Speaker 1: and shipped out to the ancient terra cotta town of

97
00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:37,800
Speaker 1: Syracusa on the east coast of Sicily. It was sometime

98
00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,600
Speaker 1: in October nineteen fifty two that Our Mary of the

99
00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,920
Speaker 1: Immaculate Heart was removed from its box by shop keeper

100
00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:51,360
Speaker 1: Salvatore Floresta and placed alongside the thirty or so other

101
00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,200
Speaker 1: Marys he'd ordered on a shelf at the back of

102
00:07:54,240 --> 00:08:01,120
Speaker 1: his shop at number twenty eight Corsa Umberto. Salvatore looked

103
00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,560
Speaker 1: at his latest items with quiet satisfaction as they stood

104
00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:10,640
Speaker 1: silent and still on the shelf, then turned and headed

105
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,400
Speaker 1: back to the front of the shop and opened up

106
00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:18,000
Speaker 1: for the day. It was roughly six months later, with

107
00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,320
Speaker 1: most of the models sold, that a woman came into

108
00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:24,400
Speaker 1: the shop looking for a gift to give a relative

109
00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,840
Speaker 1: who was due to get married. Well, what better than

110
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:33,280
Speaker 1: an effigy of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, suggested Salvatore,

111
00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:38,280
Speaker 1: the shopkeeper, the ultimate symbol of undying love and faith,

112
00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,200
Speaker 1: and so Our Mary was finally plucked from the shelf,

113
00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:54,679
Speaker 1: placed inside a paper bag, and taken away. Twenty year

114
00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:59,240
Speaker 1: olds Atonina and Angelo Ianuzzo didn't quite know what to

115
00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,440
Speaker 1: make of the thing. Although they'd been polite and courteous

116
00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,920
Speaker 1: when they received it at the wedding, in truth, neither

117
00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,800
Speaker 1: were especially religious and had little interest in an effigy

118
00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:15,840
Speaker 1: of Mary, not least of all one that was so garish.

119
00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,959
Speaker 1: Not having the heart to throw it out, however, they

120
00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,080
Speaker 1: eventually decided to hang it above their bed, perhaps hoping

121
00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,160
Speaker 1: it might in the very least bring them some good luck.

122
00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,840
Speaker 1: The couple were married in late March nineteen fifty three, and,

123
00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,719
Speaker 1: with only Angelo working carving out a modest living as

124
00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:39,280
Speaker 1: a laborer, the pair had moved into Angelo's brother's home

125
00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,320
Speaker 1: on Via delhi Orti de San Giorgio to live with

126
00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,440
Speaker 1: Angelo's brother and his wife. It was only a week

127
00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:52,960
Speaker 1: or so later when Antonina fell pregnant. Perhaps the effigy

128
00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,160
Speaker 1: of Mary had brought them good luck after all, they thought,

129
00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:01,840
Speaker 1: as they delighted in the news. Wasn't long, however, before

130
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:07,599
Speaker 1: Antonina noticed strange things occurring to her body. It started

131
00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,840
Speaker 1: with a swelling in her hands and face. Then her

132
00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,880
Speaker 1: urine began to darken, going almost slate gray in color.

133
00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,160
Speaker 1: At first, she assumed it was a natural side effect

134
00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:25,600
Speaker 1: of the pregnancy, but then the headaches started up steadily.

135
00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:30,560
Speaker 1: They grew worse and worse each time, Antonina feeling that

136
00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:34,800
Speaker 1: she might pass out from the pain, until one day

137
00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:39,400
Speaker 1: she collapsed to the floor. Her husband could only watch

138
00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,880
Speaker 1: on in horror as her face twisted into a hideous

139
00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:48,920
Speaker 1: rictus and her body began to shake uncontrollably. Having eventually

140
00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:52,880
Speaker 1: come round, Antonina was finally taken to see a doctor,

141
00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:57,840
Speaker 1: who gave her the terrifying news that she developed toxemia,

142
00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:01,400
Speaker 1: an old fashioned term for what would be described today

143
00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:06,240
Speaker 1: as pre eclampsia, a condition which causes high blood pressure

144
00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:13,840
Speaker 1: during pregnancy and can lead to serious complications if left untreated. Antonina, however,

145
00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:18,160
Speaker 1: had entered the later stage known as eclampsia, and her

146
00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:23,720
Speaker 1: prognosis was not clear, and despite the doctor's best efforts,

147
00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:30,120
Speaker 1: her condition only seemed to worsen steadily over time. If

148
00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:35,000
Speaker 1: the terror of possibly losing her baby wasn't enough, Antonina

149
00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:45,560
Speaker 1: began to go blind. It was three am in the

150
00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:50,480
Speaker 1: morning of Saturday, August twenty ninth when Angelo was woken

151
00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:56,880
Speaker 1: by Antonina's body twitching and convulsing beside him. Realizing she

152
00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:00,280
Speaker 1: was having another seizure, he did his best to keep

153
00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,800
Speaker 1: her from hurting herself until the fitting finally abated and

154
00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:08,760
Speaker 1: his wife came round again. But when she looked for

155
00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:13,800
Speaker 1: his face, she saw only darkness. Her sight had now

156
00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:19,400
Speaker 1: completely gone. As the couple wept together through the night,

157
00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:24,920
Speaker 1: Antonina eventually found sleep, while Angelo had no choice but

158
00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,240
Speaker 1: to head out for work. It was sometime around eight

159
00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,600
Speaker 1: thirty am that Antonina is said to have woken again.

160
00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,120
Speaker 1: When she opened her eyes, she thought at first she

161
00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:44,280
Speaker 1: was still dreaming. She could see everything, the bed, the walls,

162
00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:49,480
Speaker 1: the sunlight flooding in through the windows. It was a miracle,

163
00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,880
Speaker 1: she thought, as she touched her face, pinching herself to

164
00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,640
Speaker 1: know it was real. Then she looked up to the

165
00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,760
Speaker 1: effigy hanging on the wall above the back of the bed,

166
00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:05,440
Speaker 1: and into the forlorn eyes of Mary, when she noticed

167
00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:14,199
Speaker 1: something strange. The effigy appeared to be crying. Gratzia, Antonina's

168
00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,559
Speaker 1: sister in law, was brought rushing to the room by

169
00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:23,840
Speaker 1: Antonina's astonished cries. Thinking first that Antonina was having another seizure,

170
00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,520
Speaker 1: Gratzia was astonished to find her standing at the head

171
00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:32,760
Speaker 1: of the bed. Look, she said to the bemused Gratzia

172
00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:37,720
Speaker 1: as she pointed to the statue. Do you see it?

173
00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:45,080
Speaker 1: It's crying. Gratzia looked with startled pity at Antonina, thinking

174
00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,840
Speaker 1: she was clearly hallucinating, but when she tried to help

175
00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:54,319
Speaker 1: her into bed, Antonina pulled back. She was cured, she said,

176
00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:00,720
Speaker 1: pointing to her eyes she could see. Then Antonina turned

177
00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:05,440
Speaker 1: back to the effigy on the wall. Gratzia followed her

178
00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:10,320
Speaker 1: concentrated gaze, screwing her face up in bewilderment as she

179
00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:14,560
Speaker 1: tried to comprehend what she was looking at. The effigy

180
00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,679
Speaker 1: was covered in small rivulets of water that were dripping

181
00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,280
Speaker 1: steadily on to the headboard of the bed below, and

182
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,040
Speaker 1: as far as Gratzia could make out, the liquid was

183
00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:40,160
Speaker 1: coming from Mary's eyes. Completely dumbfounded, Antonina and Gratzia, along

184
00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,680
Speaker 1: with Angelo's aunt who was staying with them too, grabbed

185
00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:47,080
Speaker 1: the effigy from the wall and ran immediately into the

186
00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:51,160
Speaker 1: street as they showed it to their neighbors and anyone

187
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:55,080
Speaker 1: who was passing by. One by one, the plaque was

188
00:14:55,160 --> 00:15:00,080
Speaker 1: taken and stared at in disbelief. The eyes dabbed and

189
00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,320
Speaker 1: the material examined for any sign of water see pitch,

190
00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:08,960
Speaker 1: but nothing was found, and yet the tears continued to fall,

191
00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:15,240
Speaker 1: with many neighbors, aware of Antonina's recent health struggles to

192
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:20,120
Speaker 1: see her then standing before them positively glowing. It was

193
00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,480
Speaker 1: clear to them all that a genuine miracle was taking

194
00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:28,720
Speaker 1: place right in front of their eyes. Before long, talk

195
00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,800
Speaker 1: of the weeping Madonna had extended far beyond the Ianusom

196
00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:37,640
Speaker 1: home as words traveled quickly, first through the neighborhood and

197
00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:42,400
Speaker 1: then out into the wider town, and soon a large

198
00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:47,000
Speaker 1: crowd had formed outside Antonina and Angelo's home as people

199
00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:51,640
Speaker 1: from all over Syracusa demanded to see the effigy for themselves.

200
00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:57,080
Speaker 1: Having been alerted to the developing incident, the police promptly

201
00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:01,080
Speaker 1: arrived to disperse the crowd, only to find themselves being

202
00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,360
Speaker 1: swept up in the moment too, when the effigy was

203
00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:08,640
Speaker 1: brought out to them, still crying apparent tears from its eyes,

204
00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,640
Speaker 1: But as the crowd in the street continued to grow,

205
00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:16,520
Speaker 1: the police had no choice but to confiscate the item

206
00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,240
Speaker 1: and take it back to the station for a closer look.

207
00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:24,120
Speaker 1: By the time they'd arrived there, however, the crying had stopped.

208
00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,640
Speaker 1: That night, with the crowd almost all but gone. The

209
00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:33,480
Speaker 1: police returned to the Iannuso home, sorry to say that

210
00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,920
Speaker 1: whatever it was that had taken place had now finished.

211
00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,120
Speaker 1: Then they handed what was by then a completely dry

212
00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:47,280
Speaker 1: statue back to Antonina and Angelo, with a few people

213
00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:51,000
Speaker 1: from the earlier crowd choosing to remain outside the house.

214
00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,840
Speaker 1: Despite the apparent miracle having come to an end, the

215
00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,720
Speaker 1: Iannusos decided to leave the statue on a table outside

216
00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:03,440
Speaker 1: should anyone else turn up, hoping to see it. By

217
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:15,960
Speaker 1: the following morning, it was weeping again. On the second day, Sunday,

218
00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:22,560
Speaker 1: August thirtieth, the Archbishop of Syracusa, Attore Baroncini, traveled to

219
00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,560
Speaker 1: the Yanuso home, where he too claimed to witness the weeping.

220
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,600
Speaker 1: So stunned by what he'd seen, he rushed back immediately

221
00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:36,440
Speaker 1: to his official residence and began organizing a scientific commission

222
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:42,159
Speaker 1: to have the object formally analyzed. All the while, word

223
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:47,600
Speaker 1: of the miracle in Syracusa continued to spread as hundreds

224
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:52,280
Speaker 1: descended once more to Antonina and Angelo's home. The couple

225
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:56,280
Speaker 1: decided eventually to simply nail the effigy to their front

226
00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,360
Speaker 1: door so all could see it and touch it if

227
00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:03,919
Speaker 1: they so wished. Many even brought pieces of cloth and

228
00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:07,600
Speaker 1: wads of cotton in an effort to harvest the tears

229
00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:13,080
Speaker 1: to keep for themselves. Others came simply to pray, like

230
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:17,760
Speaker 1: Pietro Sebastiano, who, on seeing the liquid emerge from the

231
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:23,200
Speaker 1: statue's eyes, burst immediately into tears of his own. Feeling

232
00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:27,000
Speaker 1: suddenly ashamed for crying so openly in public, he then

233
00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:31,400
Speaker 1: turned round to find that everyone else there, too, was crying.

234
00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:38,119
Speaker 1: It was early on Monday, September first that Archbishop Baroncini's

235
00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:43,320
Speaker 1: commission arrived at the ian Usou property. The group of

236
00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:48,200
Speaker 1: seven men, comprised of four scientists and three trusted colleagues

237
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:54,240
Speaker 1: of Baroncini's, was led by doctor Michel Cassola. Cassola was

238
00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:58,159
Speaker 1: an avowed atheist and had been chosen by Baroncini for

239
00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,720
Speaker 1: that precise reason. After being led through to the living

240
00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:07,760
Speaker 1: room where the effigy was then being kept, Cassola couldn't

241
00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,400
Speaker 1: help but feel a little unnerved by the humble looking object,

242
00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:16,119
Speaker 1: this strange and passive thing, no different from many similar

243
00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,439
Speaker 1: objects he'd seen hung up in people's homes over the years,

244
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:25,880
Speaker 1: quite clearly emitting some kind of inexplicable liquid. He brushed

245
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:29,280
Speaker 1: at its eyes with his thumb, then rubbed the wetness

246
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:35,159
Speaker 1: between his fingers. Then, taking a sterilized prepete from his bag,

247
00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:39,880
Speaker 1: he proceeded to take a sample of it. Turning their

248
00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:44,520
Speaker 1: attention to the object itself, the team carefully removed the

249
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,240
Speaker 1: bust from its plaque and examined it closely for any

250
00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,280
Speaker 1: sign of a crack or evidence that it was simply

251
00:19:51,359 --> 00:19:57,440
Speaker 1: leaking from insight, but they found nothing. Having got everything

252
00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,880
Speaker 1: they needed, the team screwed the effigy back together, then

253
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:07,399
Speaker 1: handed it back to Antonina and Angelo, and left a

254
00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:12,280
Speaker 1: short time later that morning, at roughly eleven forty am,

255
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:25,520
Speaker 1: the crying ceased, never to occur again. Madonna de la Lachrymae,

256
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,840
Speaker 1: or our Lady of the Tears, as the peculiar object

257
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,480
Speaker 1: would come to be known, was said to have wept

258
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,880
Speaker 1: on fifty eight separate occasions over a total of four

259
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:41,520
Speaker 1: days before it stopped. This apparent weeping was also filmed

260
00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:45,280
Speaker 1: by a local cinematographer, the footage of which can be

261
00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:50,560
Speaker 1: seen on YouTube. For some, with the crying having finished,

262
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:55,440
Speaker 1: the miracle was now over. For many others, however, it

263
00:20:55,480 --> 00:21:01,480
Speaker 1: was only just beginning. On the afternoon of Saturday, September fifth,

264
00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:06,480
Speaker 1: a young girl called Enza Moncada, who had suffered from

265
00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,520
Speaker 1: the paralysis of her right arm since she was a baby,

266
00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,639
Speaker 1: was said to have been brought from her home to

267
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,040
Speaker 1: kneel before the effigy in the hope that it might

268
00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:20,320
Speaker 1: cure her. As she was led through, the crowd, which

269
00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:24,119
Speaker 1: had remained as large as ever, many began to pray

270
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:29,199
Speaker 1: for her. While the young Enza stirred underneath the plaque.

271
00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:33,240
Speaker 1: A piece of cotton was brought forward, still apparently damped

272
00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:37,320
Speaker 1: from the idol's tears collected almost a week before, and

273
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:41,320
Speaker 1: applied to her right arm. As the crowd watched on,

274
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:46,560
Speaker 1: some began to chant Long Live Mary, Long Live Mary.

275
00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,640
Speaker 1: When suddenly the young girl's arm began to twitch, drawing

276
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:57,360
Speaker 1: gasps from everyone around, and then it was rising higher

277
00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:02,639
Speaker 1: and higher into the air. Enza's mother burst into tears

278
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:07,040
Speaker 1: as her daughter stood before her, gleefully waving her once

279
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:12,600
Speaker 1: paralyzed arm high above her head. It was four days

280
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:18,960
Speaker 1: later when doctor Michel Cassola published his team's findings. According

281
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,639
Speaker 1: to them, incredibly, the liquid taken from the effigy was

282
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,359
Speaker 1: found to be comprised of a watery solution of sodium

283
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:33,800
Speaker 1: chlorite with traces of protein, just like human secretions. The

284
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,120
Speaker 1: liquid was then put through a series of chemical reactions,

285
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:42,480
Speaker 1: the results of which were found to mirror almost identically

286
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 1: the results of similar tests conducted with human tears. As

287
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:52,480
Speaker 1: a direct result of these startling revelations, priests all over

288
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,760
Speaker 1: Italy reported a huge surge in members of their congregation

289
00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:01,680
Speaker 1: visiting their confession boxes, only spurred on by the now

290
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:09,320
Speaker 1: seemingly verified miracle. Doctor Cassola's team also examined around two

291
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:13,520
Speaker 1: hundred and ninety reports of inexplicable healing, such as that

292
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:19,000
Speaker 1: apparently experienced by the young girl Endza Moncada. Though most

293
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,240
Speaker 1: were dismissed, as many as one hundred and five are

294
00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,919
Speaker 1: said to have been considered of special interest to the church.

295
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:37,200
Speaker 1: With the release of the commission's findings, the seemingly miraculous

296
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:41,359
Speaker 1: effigy had forever been transformed from what was once a

297
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:46,320
Speaker 1: humble wedding gift to a deeply venerated icon of immense

298
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:51,439
Speaker 1: religious significance. As such, it had effectively ceased to be

299
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:57,360
Speaker 1: the private property of Antonina and Angelo Ianuso, after agreeing

300
00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,240
Speaker 1: with the Church to have it removed from their home.

301
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:04,000
Speaker 1: A vast crowd followed as it was taken from their

302
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:09,159
Speaker 1: door and led through the streets into nearby Piazza Euripide,

303
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:14,120
Speaker 1: where it was set to remain indefinitely. Watching on as

304
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:17,600
Speaker 1: it was installed at the edge of the square, Archbishop

305
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:23,440
Speaker 1: Baronzini addressed the crowd solemnly remarking that the effigies tears

306
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,800
Speaker 1: were not only indelible proof of God, but also a

307
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,040
Speaker 1: symbol of all the suffering that remained in the world.

308
00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:38,040
Speaker 1: In December, at Sicily's annual Bishop's Conference, it was unanimously

309
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:43,119
Speaker 1: agreed that, on account of the findings of Baronzini's scientific commission,

310
00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:48,720
Speaker 1: the miracle had been real. A few days later, on

311
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:53,399
Speaker 1: what for many is Christmas Day, with Antonina Ianuso having

312
00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:58,280
Speaker 1: by then completely overcome her illness, she and Angelo welcomed

313
00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:03,600
Speaker 1: their first child into the world, Mariano. The couple would

314
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,480
Speaker 1: go on to have three more healthy children. The following year,

315
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:13,040
Speaker 1: the Vatican confirmed the findings of the bishop's conference, with

316
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:17,199
Speaker 1: Pope Pious the twelfth also declaring the miracle to have

317
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:22,119
Speaker 1: been real. The Ianuso effigy remains the only article of

318
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,200
Speaker 1: its kind to be formally recognized by the Roman Catholic church,

319
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,560
Speaker 1: and as its mythical status continued to grow over the years,

320
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,800
Speaker 1: it was eventually decided to build it a sanctuary of

321
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:40,359
Speaker 1: its own. The Basilica Sanctuario Madonna de la Lacromae in

322
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:44,760
Speaker 1: Syracusa was formerly opened by Pope John Pauled the second

323
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,679
Speaker 1: in November nineteen ninety four, and you can visit the

324
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,520
Speaker 1: object to this day where it is displayed along with

325
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,240
Speaker 1: the reliquary that is said to hold a vial of

326
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,040
Speaker 1: its tears, as well as a number of tear soaked cloths.

327
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:05,119
Speaker 1: If you enjoy Unexplained and would like to help support us,

328
00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:08,640
Speaker 1: you can now do so via Patroon. To receive access

329
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,840
Speaker 1: to add free episodes, just go to patron dot com

330
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:15,800
Speaker 1: forward Slash Unexplained pod to sign up Unexplained. The book

331
00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:19,360
Speaker 1: and audiobook, featuring ten stories that have never before been

332
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,840
Speaker 1: covered on the show, is now available to buy worldwide.

333
00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 1: You can purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones,

334
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,280
Speaker 1: among other bookstores. All elements have Unexplained, including the show's music,

335
00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:34,879
Speaker 1: are produced by me Richard McClane smith. Please subscribe and

336
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,879
Speaker 1: rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts, and feel

337
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,280
Speaker 1: free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas

338
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,280
Speaker 1: regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you

339
00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:45,439
Speaker 1: have an explanation of your own you'd like to share.

340
00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:49,000
Speaker 1: You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com

341
00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:54,399
Speaker 1: or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com,

342
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,159
Speaker 1: Forward slash Unexplained Podcast