In Atina, in the mountainous heart of Lazio, far from Rome's bustling piazzas and tourist crowds, a young girl claims to have seen the Madonna (a Marian Apparition). Her story, quiet yet profound, forms the core of Broken Madonna, the debut novel by Anna Lucia. The book explores one of the most mysterious and emotionally charged phenomena in Catholic tradition: the Marian apparition.

A Marian apparition is said to occur when the Virgin Mary appears to an individual or group, often children, conveying messages of faith, hope, or warning. Some of the most famous include Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal. But in Broken Madonna, Maria Lucia has rooted her fictional account in a lesser-known but deeply personal setting: the post-war mountain village of Atina, nestled in the Ciociaria area of Lazio.