The fourteenth century church began as a hermitage for monks of St. Augustine. The construction of the church as well as the refectory and monastic cells were made by excavating into the rock. The interior has a single nave, fourteenth century frescoes, one of them depicting the Blessed Simone Fidati.

The entire complex was abandoned in 1652 and fell into very bad condition until 1833, when, restored following some miraculous episodes, it became known as the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Stella. The sanctuary was opened to worship the first Sunday of May to the first Sunday in June (during the Marian month). In this period the processions from neighboring countries flocked there. An element of veneration was the bloodied stone; according to the oral tradition, the stone broke away from the vault of the cave and struck a pilgrim who remained unscathed. In the sanctuary the clothes of miraculous survivors were displayed as a sign of grace received.