On the evening of December 8^th 2016, a crowd gathered in front of the building of the Santuario di Nostra Signora della Guardia in Tortona, Italy, for the ceremonial switching on of the new lights illuminating the tower and the golden statue of our Lady of the Guard on top. The ceremony officially inaugurated the Basilica’s new lighting system, after the completion of the renovation works that concerned its interiors. It was an emotionally significant event for the community of Tortona that donated the gold used for the gilding of the statue, proving its affection for this sacred place founded by Saint Luigi Orione.

The rector, Don Renzo Vanoi, thanked “everyone who collaborated and contributed in re-gilding the statue. The gold was entirely donated by the community of followers. It was a real competition of generosity where everyone looking at the statue will now know that some of that gold is theirs too. By illuminating it with the new lights, the statue can shine day and night, reminding people of the words of St. Luigi Orione: each single pilgrim seeing our Lady even from a distance can be inspired by thoughts of salvation”.

Saint Luigi Orione was born in a town near Tortona. He was a pupil of St. John Bosco and began his restless work in the education and assistance of young people in the early 1900s. After the First World War, he founded charity colleges and institutes in Italy and Latin America. In 1931 he founded the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Guard in Tortona, where his remains can be venerated. In 2004, the Catholic Church proclaimed him a Saint.

The lighting system of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Guard was entirely renovated with LED sources with the aim to optimize energy consumption and improve lighting levels. The colour temperature and the elevated colour rendering of the new LED lights enhance the interiors, while improving the viewing of the Church and making it more attractive.

The compact dimensions of the new fixtures enhance the overall aesthetics of the lighting system ensuring beam pointing accuracy. The system is dimmable and features a remote system that can control each single light point.

The tower of the Sanctuary is illuminated with Sicura LED (Disano) fixtures that were skilfully installed to create an amazing wall-washer effect.

The interiors of the Sanctuary, instead, are illuminated with the innovative Vision 2.0 (Fosnova) with a separated cabling, the brand new version of the acclaimed spotlight designed by Alessandro Pedretti (Studio Rota & Partners). The cabling box can be installed on cornices or capitals to become practically invisible. A mechanical arm of different lengths can position the spotlight to deliver light upwards or downwards as desired.

The lighting performance of Vision 2.0 includes the quality of highly efficient, latest generation LED sources, with a very high colour rendering index (CRI>92) and low power consumptions. Vision with separate cabling is available in the small version (optical compartment with diameter of 107 mm and luminous flux from 3300 to 4500 lumen) or the big version (optical compartment with diameter of 127 mm and luminous flux from 5100 to 6900 lumen), delivering power outputs ranging between 25 and 60W.