The Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy (Sacred Mountains) are nine mountains and hills characterized by groups of chapels and other architectural elements. Between the end of the 16th and 17th centuries, religious men, believers, and artists created these mountains and hills, dedicating them to various aspects of the Christian Catholic faith. Let’s discover together the history, art, and spirituality that surround these places.
Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
The Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, in addition to their symbolic and spiritual meaning, exude great beauty due to their skillful integration into the surrounding natural landscape of hills, forests, and lakes. Inside, they all preserve significant artistic works such as frescoes and statues. UNESCO declared them World Heritage Sites in 2003.
History of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
The project of the Sacri Monti began between the 15th and 16th centuries with the aim of creating places of prayer and meeting for the faithful as an alternative to the Holy Land. In fact, the expansionism of the Turks was making it increasingly dangerous for pilgrims to reach it. Initially, a provision recalling the topography of the Holy Land proposed three different locations for the creation of the “New Jerusalem”: Varallo in Valsesia, Montaione in Tuscany, and Braga in northern Portugal. The project of the Sacri Monti asserted itself more strongly, especially after the Council of Trent in 1545–1563, when the Church took on the mission of countering the Protestant Reformation. The sacred places were to represent the ideal sentinels against heresy.
After their construction, in all the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, the greatest Piedmontese and Lombard artists of the period created paintings and sculptures. They represented the most edifying episodes of the lives of Jesus, Mary, or the Saints, forming a notable artistic heritage.
The Sacri Monti in Italy
The Franciscan friar Bernardino Caimi first built the Sacro Monte of Varallo in Italy in 1481, embodying the devotional model. Carlo Borromeo, the bishop of Milan, strongly desired the Sacro Monte of Varallo, which served as a model for subsequent Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy. The dedication encompassed not only Christ but also the cults of the Virgin Mary, the saints, the Trinity, and the mysteries of the Rosary.
The construction of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy continued throughout the 17th century and the 18th century. Initially, the construction of each Sacri Monti complex followed common rules for typology and architectural style. However, over time, each one has evolved according to its own art, architecture, theme, and distinct role. For instance, the Orta complex honors Saint Francis of Assisi, maintaining a largely unchanged layout since the 16th century. The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin of Help in Ossuccio has 14 baroque chapels arranged on the slope of a mountain that leads to the final sanctuary at the summit. At the beginning of the 18th century, the monk Michelangelo da Montiglio created the Sacro Monte of Belmonte in Valperga Canavese to ideally recreate the biblical sites of the Holy Land.
The Sacro Monte of Varallo
The Sacro Monte of Varallo in Valsesia is the oldest and most artistically intriguing of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy. A basilica, representing the final station of a devotional route, and forty-four chapels, housing frescoes and approximately eight hundred life-size polychrome statues, compose the Sacro Monte of Varallo. As previously mentioned, the Franciscan friar Bernardino Caimi conceived the idea of creating a Sacred Mount in Varallo in 1481, aiming to replicate the most emblematic places of the Holy Land as a substitute for pilgrimage. This intent led to the naming of the Sacro Monte of Varallo as New Jerusalem.
The scenic majesty of the Sacro Monte of Varallo conceals intentions of moral and religious edification. The route ideally touches the sacred places of Catholicism, making the faithful relive scenes from the evangelical story. Gaudenzio Ferrari continued this intent after Bernardino Caimi’s death, applying his artistic genius to the creation of the place’s cultural and religious heritage. In the 17th century, other chapels linked to the events of the Passion of Jesus and the Palace of Pilate were added, characterized by the Holy Stairs, which reproduced that of San Giovanni in Laterano. The same century saw the arrangement of the Sacro Monte’s summit, the insertion of chapels into Renaissance-style buildings, and the commencement of construction for the new Basilica of the Assumption.
Basilica of the Assumption
The construction of the Basilica dell’Assumption began in 1614 and continued for exactly one century. In 1649, the place of worship welcomed the ancient statue of the sleeping Madonna, which, in a short time, became the object of special devotion. If the façade is from the late nineteenth century and has an eclectic style, the interior is a triumph of Baroque taste, with a profusion of polychrome statues and gold details in the dome and frescoes along the walls.
The Sacro Monte of Orta
The Sacro Monte of Orta, which is in the province of Novara, is a complex dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi and built in three distinct phases. The first went from 1590 to 1630, a period in which the Mannerist style prevailed. The second phase, which continued until the end of the 17th century, featured a predominance of the Baroque style. This style also characterized the third phase, which persisted until the end of the 18th century, during which other stylistic influences also emerged. The result of these three phases consists of 21 splendidly decorated chapels, the ancient Hospice of Saint Francis, a monumental door, the garden, and a fountain. Between the Sacro Monte of Orta and that of Varallo, there is a devotional path, called the Peregrinatio.
The life and miracles of Saint Francis of Assisi are associated with the artistic and decorative apparatus. Because of this, Orta stands out among the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy as the sole one fully devoted to a single saint. There have been no major changes to this sacred mountain since the 16th century. Among the works of art present, in addition to the 376 life-size polychrome statues, we remember the Pietà, a wooden sculpture dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries and kept inside the church of Saints Nicolao and Francesco.
Church of Saints Nicolao and Francesco
The devotional path of the Sacro Monte of Orta ends with the church of San Nicolao and Francesco, an ancient place of worship but completely restored in the 17th century on the model of the Lower Basilica of Assisi.
Many works of art make the church one of the most intriguing structures on the Sacro Monte of Orta. In addition to the Pietà, the church houses numerous paintings from the 17th to the 18th century, as well as a wooden group of the Madonna della Pietà that dates back to the 14th century.
The Sacro Monte of Crea
The Sacro Monte di Crea is located in Serralunga di Crea, in the province of Alessandria. The path climbs up the hill to the Marian sanctuary and continues to the summit chapel of Paradise. The history of the Sacro Monte di Crea is ancient and begins with that of the convent and church of Santa Maria, a destination of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. According to tradition, it was Saint Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, who brought the wooden statue of the Madonna and Child to the hill in 350, still an object of devotion today. To accommodate it, he built an oratory that became the driving force of Christianity and the Marian cult. Over the centuries, the church received numerous donations of works and relics, leading the Gonzaga lords to desire an expansion and conceive the idea of transforming the site into the Sacro Monte in 1589.
The Sacro Monte of Varallo served as inspiration for the creation of the devotional path. Costantino Massino, the prior of Crea, ordered the construction of 18 stations honoring the life of the Virgin. At the end of the 17th century, 17 hermitages appeared next to the chapels, while in 1735 work began on the renovation of the church’s façade in the Baroque style it has maintained to this day. The interiors of the church of Santa Maria feature 15th-century frescoes in Renaissance style and 16th- and 17th-century canvases. The 23 current chapels feature polychrome terracotta statues, typical of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy.
The Sacro Monte of Oropa
Outside the walls of the sanctuary of Oropa, 19 chapels make up the Sacro Monte of Oropa (Biella). Twelve of these chapels honor the life of the Madonna, while the remaining ones honor saints and the sanctuary’s traditions. The two basilicas, the Ancient one and the Superior one, complete the complex of the Sacro Monte of Oropa.
The Capuchin friar Father Fedele da San Germano initiated the creation of this Sacro Monte in 1620. This occurred in conjunction with the solemn coronation of the famous statue of the Black Madonna, dating back to the end of the 13th century. Initially, plans called for 20 chapels, but today, only 19 remain, adorned with frescoes and polychrome terracotta statues. The Oropa chapel distinguishes itself from the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy with its unique stone slab roof, a common feature of Alpine huts.
The Sacro Monte of Belmonte
The Sacro Monte of Belmonte has a sanctuary and 13 chapels of the Via Crucis. It stands isolated in a green area of the municipality of Valperga (Turin). The site is also important from a historical and archaeological point of view. In fact, here have emerged finds of a prehistoric civilization of the Bronze Age and the ruins of a fortified settlement of the Lombard era. According to tradition, Arduino of Ivrea, a nobleman and king of Italy, requested the construction of the sanctuary as a tribute for the miraculous healing he received from the Virgin in 1002. In reality, Benedictine nuns founded the first place of worship around the year 1000. They remained here until 1601. The Council of Trent established in that year that isolated places could not host female convents. Thus, the minor friars of St. Francis arrived here in place of the nuns.
The latter were the authors of several extensions of the sanctuary. Furthermore, starting from 1712, they designed the devotional path that transformed Belmonte into one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy. The Sacro Monte of Belmonte includes the 13 chapels located along the circular path of the Via Crucis. They are characterized by frescoes and groups of polychrome statues. The sanctuary houses the statue of the Madonna of Belmonte. It is an object of fervent devotion dating back to before the seventeenth century. On the summit of the mountain stands the statue of Saint Francis, almost 5 meters high.
The Sacro Monte of Ghiffa
The Sacro Monte di Ghiffa is located above the town of Ronco (Verbania). The expansion of the ancient oratory of the Holy Trinity initiated the conception of the Sacro Monte di Ghiffa at the end of the 16th century. The construction of the Sacro Monte complex and the chapels began in the middle of the same century. A lack of financial resources led to the construction of only three chapels.
There are two Baroque chapels: the Coronation of the Virgin (1647) and St. John the Baptist (1659). Finally, we have the Chapel of Abraham, which was constructed between 1703 and 1722. In 1752, the construction of the 14-arched portico in the sanctuary square began. The arches house the stations of the Via Crucis. Today, the portico also features the chapel of the Madonna Addolorata.
The Sacro Monte of Domodossola
The Sacro Monte of Domodossola dates back to its conception in 1656. In that year, in fact, two Capuchin friars chose a hill above Domodossola to create the Sacro Monte Calvario. The project encompassed a sequence of crosses signifying the stations of the Via Crucis, culminating in a sanctuary honoring SS. Crocifisso. The project also involved the gradual replacement of the crosses with an equal number of chapels. They represent a different episode of the Passion of Christ. The construction of the chapels ended in the 18th century.
At the top of the hill is the octagonal sanctuary of the Holy Cross. Its construction began in 1657 in Baroque style. In 1828, the philosopher and theologian Blessed Antonio Rosmini lived here. Today, you can visit the cell where he retreated to pray, preserving some of his objects and one of his four body relics.
The Sacro Monte of Varese
The Sacro Monte of Varese is located in the town of Santa Maria del Monte. 14 chapels in its complex, dedicated to the mysteries of the Rosary, form an ideal devotional path. It culminates at the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte, a site of intense pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. The construction of the Sacro Monte began in 1604. Thanks to numerous donations, the work was quicker than that of the other Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy.
The style that characterizes the architecture of the chapels, triumphal arches, and fountains is eclectic and inspired by Mannerism. The chapels house groups of statues and frescoes by the most important artists of seventeenth-century sacred art.
The Sacro Monte of Ossuccio
Sacro Monte della Beata Vergine del Soccorso is located in Ossuccio, in the municipality of Tremezzina (Como). It stands in an isolated place facing the Comacina island of Lake Como. The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio complex includes fourteen chapels, built in several phases between 1629 and 1714. They all have a wonderful baroque style and a total of 230 life-size statues.
The devotional path winds through the chapels dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary, culminating at the sanctuary of the Assumption of the Mother of God. This sanctuary features a magnificent marble high altar from the 18th century. It houses a group of statues depicting the Coronation of the Virgin. A small marble temple, representing the final station of the Sacro Monte route, encloses the group.
Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy Gallery
Map of Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy.
