Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy

The nine Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) of northern Italy are groups of chapels and other architectural features created in the late 16th and 17th centuries and dedicated to different aspects of the Christian faith. In addition to their symbolic spiritual meaning, they are of great beauty by virtue of the skill with which they have been integrated into the surrounding natural landscape of hills, forests and lakes. They also house much important artistic material in the form of wall paintings and statuary.

The Nine Sacri Monti are:
1. The Sacro Monte or Nuova Gerusalemme (New Jerusalem) of Varallo Sesia (1486)
(Comune of Varallo Sesia - Vercelli)
2. The Sacro Monte of Santa Maria Assunta, Serralunga di Crea (1589)
(Comune of Ponzano Monferrato, Serralunga di Crea - Alessandria)
3. The Sacro Monte of San Francesco, Orta San Giulio (1590)
(Comune of Orta San Giulio - Novara)
4. The Sacro Monte of the Rosary, Varese (1598)
(Comune of Varese - Varese)
5. The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin, Oropa (1617)
(Comune of Biella - Biella)
6. The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin of Succour, Ossuccio (1635)
(Comune of Como - Como)
7. The Sacro Monte of the Holy Trinity, Ghiffa (1591)
(Comune of Ghiffa - Verbania)
8. The Sacro Monte and Calvary, Domodossola (1657)
(Comune of Domodossola - Verbania)
9. The Sacro Monte of Belmonte, Valperga (1712)
(Comunes of Cuorgnè, Pertusio, Prascorsano, Valperga - Torino)

Year	Decision	Comments
2003	Inscribed	Reasons for inscription
2002	Deferred	To provide comprehensive Management Plan

Visit June 2008

For our drive back from the Swiss lakes to Milan Malpensa airport I had puzzled out a route via the Centovalli and Domodossola. This is a lovely drive, twisting and turning but nothing too bad. About half way we were perplexed by the sight of an enormous church complex: the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sangue in Re. It was built in 1894 for the 400th anniversary of the 'miracle of the blood'. Wow! So exuberant that it almost looks like an orthodox monastic complex.

Domodossola turned out to be quite a large city. Nowhere could we find signs pointing to 'Sacri Monte' or 'Calvaria'. We had to get out of the car in the city center and ask around and look at the city maps posted there. We finally found the Sacri Monti located next to the main road to Milan, beyond the Domodossola town borders. From there it is signposted (if you look well enough, the signs are very small).

Of course a Calvary has to be located uphill. I left my mother, who refused to go on via the tiny winding roads, at the foot of the hill. I sped up in the car, giving new meaning to the term 'ticking off WHS': I didn't want to leave my mother for too long by the side of the road, but also just had to grasp the feel of The Sacro Monte and Calvary of Domodossola.

It's a large complex, even a bus full of tourists or pilgrims had arrived. I quickly did my rounds, enjoying the location with Alpine views and checking out the chapels, church and remains of a castle. I wasn't as moved here as with the other two Calvaries that I have visited in Slovakia and Poland, but that could have been provoked by the rush I was in. This site in Domodossola is certainly worth a visit.

More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery

Reviews

David Berlanda (Italy / Czech Republic):

I have visited once the beautiful sanctuary of Sacro Monte (“Sacred Mount”) of the Rosary near Varese, one of the nine of the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, forming this WHS. It was an important place of pilgrimage to the headquarters of the eremitic order of Romite Ambrosiane since 1474 and was begun in 1604, on the initiative of the Capuchin friar Giambattista Aguggiari, with the 2 kilometres long steep and winding paved sacred path (that covers a difference in height of about 300 metres), that represents the Mysteries of the Rosary. Thanks to many donations it was constructed very quickly and thirteen chapels were already built in 1623 and the other two were completed by 1698; they are divided in three groups of five, as in the Rosary. Every chapel, well or fountain and also their decoration of sculptures and frescoes, made with strongly educational purposes and realism by local Baroque artists, are different from the others. The main buildings on the path (that has also panoramic terraces, widenings for pauses of the processions and wells for the pilgrims) are: Church of the Virgin (not yet part of the sacred path because it is a sort of introduction to it), Gate of the Rosary, Fountain of the Samaritan, Chapels of the Annunciation, of the Visitation, of the Nativity (there is a painting of 1983 by the famous Italian painter Renato Guttuso on a Baroque fresco in bad state of conservation on its wall), of the Presentation at the Temple, of the Disputation of the Doctors, Arch of Saint Charles, 2nd fountain, Chapel of the Prayer in the Olive Garden, Romites’ Cave, Chapels of the Flagellation, of the Coronation of Thorns, of the Ascent to the Calvary, of the Crucifixion, Arch of Saint Ambrose, 3rd fountain, Chapels of the Resurrection, of the Ascension of Jesus to the Heaven, of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, of the Assumption of Mary in the Heaven, Fountain of Moses (optical end of the path, built between 1803 and 1817) and the Sanctuary of Saint Mary of the Mount, on the top of the mountain, containing the last chapel, of the Coronation of Mary. The sanctuary, built in 1474 on an older and smaller church of the 11th century, is entirely decorated with frescos and contains a nice painting of the 14th century and a nice altar. Around it there is the nice small village of Santa Maria del Monte, with narrow streets and nice houses.
I liked very much the Sacro Monte because of its originality and of the monumentality and decorations of buildings that normally have much smaller dimensions (the chapels as isolated buildings). It is worth of visit if you are in Lombardy and justifies its inscription on the WHS, but I think that with the nine Italian Sacri Monti could be inscribed also the two in southern Switzerland (of Locarno and Brissago). The complex has a high degree of authenticity, but there are some modern villas close to the path and in the village, and the monumental buildings, apart from some frescoes, are in a very good state of conservation, but the houses of the village often need a restoration. You can visit only the church inside: the chapels of the path are closed but you can see the interiors from their windows outside and press some buttons to switch on the inner illumination. It is easy to reach Varese by taking the highway A8 that begins in Milan and finishes here. To go to the Sacro Monte you have to take the road SP62 and from there other minor streets. You can reach the top of the mount and park there or leave the car near the beginning of the sacred path or near a close bus station, where are buses that bring you to the funicular railway that reaches the top of the mount. Apart from the WHS, in the town of Varese you can visit the huge Baroque palace Estense with its park or the Cathedral with its Romanesque baptistery.
Photo: Varese - Sacro Monte of the Rosary - Sactuary of Saint Mary of the Mount

Have you been to Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy? Share your experiences!

Add your own review