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Sacro Monte of the Rosery. Varese. Italian Lakes
Sacro Monte of the Rosery. Varese. Italian Lakes
Building of the Sacro Monte began in 1604 under the supervision of the Franciscan monk Giovanni Battista Aguggiari, supported by Cardinal Federico Borromeo and Pope Pius V. The site chosen was an ancient Ambrosian place of worship. The project totaled 14 chapels dedicated to the mysteries of the rosary and final chapel completed was the Santuario di Santa Maria del Monte, in 1680. Artists that worked alongside the architect Giuseppe Bernascone (who also designed the very fine baroque bell tower of the Basilica of San Vittore in Varese) included the sculptors Cristoforo Prestinari, Francesco Silva and Dionigi Bussola and the painters Francesco Nuvolone, il Morazzone, Andrea Villa.
Pilgrims follow a pathway that is over 2 km long that rises over 400 metres. This offers a incredible view over the unusually large woods that are divided into three sections, each separated from the next by arches that represent the three Mysteries of the Rosary.
Sacro Monte di Varese consists of the village of Santa Maria del Monte where the Sanctuary is situated, and by the Holy Path, studded with 14 chapels, of the Rosary Mysteries, the fifteenth is the Sanctuary. This is a unique place within the park of Campo dei Fiori and is famous for the excellent quality of its architecture, paintings and sculptures. A religious and artistic milestone.In the Sanctuary, the miraculous simulacrum of the Virgin is kept. It shows interesting signs of architectural and artistic superimposing which different historical events have left since the eleventh century and which represent important evidence of art and faith right up to the twentieth century. The village, which is of ancient origin, lives around the Sanctuary and it is the final stop of the pilgrimage along the Holy Path. It dominates a very beautiful and open landscape, which is the perfect prelude to meditation, prayer and visiting art treasures. Sacro Monte is part of the Parco Campo dei Fiori and retains the charm of a mountain village, embellished by art nouveau style villas. It is also a starting point for several nature walks. The Baroffio Museum, set on the side of the Sanctuary of S. Maria del Monte, contains artistic and historical treasures which are displayed, according to modern criteria: paintings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts; coins, medals, pieces of pottery and sacred vestments donated during the course time, finally there is a section of contemporary sacred art dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Shortly after the fourteenth chapel stands the house-museum of the famous Milanese sculptor Ludovico Pogliaghi, with its collection of art objects and antique pieces. It retains the original doors, used as a plaster cast for those made in bronze for the Duomo in Milan at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The museum belongs to the Ambrosina of Milan.
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
1. The Sacro Monte or Nuova Gerusalemme (New Jerusalem) of Varallo Sesia (1486)
2. The Sacro Monte of Santa Maria Assunta, Serralunga di Crea (1589)
3. The Sacro Monte of San Francesco, Orta San Giulio (1590)
4. The Sacro Monte of the Rosary, Varese (1598)
5. The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin, Oropa (1617)
6. The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin of Succour, Ossuccio (1635)
7. The Sacro Monte of the Holy Trinity, Ghiffa (1591)
8. The Sacro Monte and Calvary, Domodossola (1657)
9. The Sacro Monte of Belmonte, Valperga (1712)
Italian Lakes Tourist Information Guides – Tourism in Varese.
