According to legend, a summer snowstorm occurred in Italy in 352 A.D. On the night of August 4, a wealthy couple prayed to Mary, Our Lady, because they wanted a child to make them a family. That night, Mary appeared to them in a dream and instructed them to build a church in her honor on the Esquiline Hill. Mary said that the site for the new church would soon be outlined in snow. On the same night, Mary also appeared to Pope Liberius and announced the coming of a miraculous summer snow fall. When residents woke up on August 5, they found the Esquiline Hill covered in snow. The outline of a church could be seen in the snow. Less that two years later, the Basilica of Saint Mary Major was built on that site. In honor of that summer snow fall, Mary is sometimes referred to as Our Lady of the Snows.
This rosary is done in goldish aurora borealis beads and gold tone crucifix. It is marked Italy and Our Lady of the Snows. Excellent vintage condition.