Sacri Monti: a spiritual journey between Piedmont and Lombardy

Mountains, lakes and picturesque landscapes; but also monuments and chapels rich in art and history. The Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy attract tens of thousands of visitors every year, captured by the cultural attractions and the scenic beauty of these territories.

There is no doubt, however, that the mystical and spiritual component that emanates from each of the nine architectural complexes plays a fundamental role in the experience of visiting the Sacri Monti. In each of them, we find a series of shrines and religious structures in which we can admire statues or paintings that tell different scenes related to Christian history, for example about the life of Jesus, Mary or the Saints.

Each Sacred Mount, therefore, represents a sort of “pastoral via crucis", a way used over the centuries by the ecclesiastical authorities to communicate with the faithful, telling them the most evocative stories from a religious point of view to increase the popular faith. 

Also for this reason, although starting from a common structure (various buildings built in strategic positions, on top of hills or mountains overlooking the surrounding territory), each of the nine complexes has developed unique artistic and architectural features. 

That’s why the visit through the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy represents a real spiritual journey that we will travel together stage after stage. Starting from the Sacro Monte di Varallo, in Piedmont.

In the province of Vercelli, lying at the confluence of the Mastallone creek and the river Sesia, it’s located the small town of Varallo. From the banks of the river, we can look at the silhouette of the Sacro Monte, overlooking the town for over 500 years.

Here, in the heart of Piedmont, the Franciscan friar Bernardino Caimi imagined a transposition of the Holy Land. Thus, almost at the end of the 15th century, a series of buildings were built to reproduce the most iconic religious sites of Jerusalem. 

These constructions were developed over the centuries and filled with artworks related to the universe of spirituality, giving life to a moral path made by paintings and sculptures that reproduce scenes of real life regarding the history of Christ, or about different events taken from the Bible and the Gospels. 

Chapel 1, for example, offers statues and decorations of the late sixteenth century that tell the story of Adam and Eve and original sin (some statues of animals date back to the late nineteenth century); the chapels 2, 3 and 4 make up the so-called Nazareth complex, and describe the events of the Annunciation, the Visitation and the first dream of Joseph.

And so on, through the Bethlehem Complex, the Pilate Palace and the Calvary Complex, following a path that has a total of 45 chapels and that winds along a small and elegant grove.

A picturesque way to reach the heart of the complex, starting from Varallo, is by using the spectacular cable car (indicated as the steepest in Europe!) that connects the country to the area of the Sacro Monte. Or we can simply choose to pass through the monumental entrance after walking up the pedestrian path, just like the pilgrims of the past.

The Sacro Monte Calvario of Domodossola is located in the northern part of Piedmont, a few kilometers away from the border with Switzerland. The complex is surrounded by mountains and positioned above the slope of the Mattarella hill, towering over Domodossola and the Toce river and offering a spectacular view over the Ossola Valley. 

Compared to that of Varallo, this Sacro Monte appears smaller and more spartan. We can understand the reason by taking a look at its history: it was founded in 1656 by two Capuchin friars, but at the beginning of the 19th century friars were driven out and the structure was used as a barracks for almost twenty years. In 1828 a new religious order founded by the philosopher and priest Antonio Rosmini returned to occupy the complex, which was enriched with new Chapels during the following century.

These Chapels are adorned with statues and frescoes, and structured as Stations of the Cross. The name itself (Sacred Mount Calvary) refers to the hill of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified, and in general there is a spiritual aura that refers to the religious theme of the Passion of Christ. 

Along the picturesque and verdant road that goes up from the village of Domodossola, in fact, we find the first Chapels to symbolize the Via Crucis. We can also take a look at the ruins of the ancient convent and the remains of the Castle of Mattarella, which date back to before the creation of the Sacro Monte.

Finally, once we reach the top of the slope, we can enter the Sanctuary of the SS. Crocifisso, where a series of frescoes and the touching scene of the Crucifixion placed above the altar constitute the sublimation of the path of prayer of the pilgrims.

The Sacro Monte of Orta is not far from Ghiffa. However, it’s not on the shores of Lake Maggiore, but of the smaller Lake Orta, right in front of the picturesque Island of San Giulio, clearly visible from the Sanctuary.

The complex of Orta was born in 1590 and is entirely dedicated to the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi. The twenty chapels that compose it, in fact, are entirely immersed in the beautiful nature of the place: we can visit them all following a pleasant itinerary that offers breathtaking views of the lake below.

Walking in this lush garden, we can not only admire the works of art and architecture of religious buildings, but also appreciate the silence, get in tune with nature, look for our point of balance and inner peace.

After a walk in the green, passing near arches, wells and fountains, we conclude the path of San Francesco with a visit to the Church of San Nicolao, a Proto-Romanesque building that was reorganized in the '600 to recall the style of the lower Basilica of Assisi. Today it houses a beautiful wooden Pietà entitled Mother of the Redeemer.

Inside the Nature Reserve of the Sacro Monte of Oropa, the Sanctuary stands at about 1200 meters, but the paths that depart from here exceed by far 2000 meters, making it the highest site among all the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy.

The complex of Oropa was built from the 17th century and is quite large: it consists of two basilicas, the Ancient and the Upper, recognizable by its characteristic dome. According to legend, the religious importance of this place is due to Sant'Eusebio, first bishop of Vercelli, who placed in a cave around this area a wooden statue of the Black Madonna from Palestine, in the 4th century (actually the statue was the work of a Valdostan sculptor of the late 13th century).

Today, therefore, the Sacro Monte of Oropa is dedicated to the Madonna. Twelve of the twenty-seven Chapels that make up the site depict scenes from the life of Mary through statues and frescoes. The remaining buildings tell stories of the life of other Saints and about the tradition of the Sanctuary.

Here in Oropa nature plays a fundamental role: it’s the key factor that makes it possible to experience a real spiritual journey. Walking along the many paths or walking in the beautiful botanical garden is what really makes really tangible the mystical side of this place, transforming it in a true oasis of peace and prayer, despite being perhaps, among all the Sacri Monti, the most known by the general public (often venue of external events, such as stage arrivals of the Giro d'Italia).