The bronze group by the Roman sculptor, Rodolfo Maleci (1941) stands in Rita’s vegetable garden.

It depicts Rita lying down and a relative is leaning over her to give her the miraculous gifts of roses and winter figs. In one corner, in memory of the miraculous tree, stands a young fig tree, protected by the rocky walls from the harsh weather. A shallow grotto opens up in the rock at the top of the triangle. Every crack in the walls inside the little grotto, every fissure of the ravine contains prayers for grace on all kinds of materials, from a page from an exercise book to a bus ticket. The bronze statue is smooth and shiny from all the caresses, kisses and the myriad of handkerchiefs, clothes and scarves, which have been rubbed over the statue to gain a minute, beneficial particle of the saint’s power. Some of these handkerchiefs will be kept as relics. Others are left there, tied to Rita’s wrists, raised arms and feet, as a symbol of a close embrace. And Rosary crowns, which will be recovered later or even the following day, hang from the wrists of the two statues.