03.15.06
Sacro Monte of Varallo Sesia. The Sacro Monte of the Italian lakes.
Sacro Monte of Varallo Sesia. The Sacro Monte of the Italian lakes.
Sacro Monte or New Jerusalem of Varallo Sesia was the first of the Sacro Monte and was built in 1486 by the Franciscan Padre Bernardino Caimi. On returning from a visit to the holy land he was inspired to create a shrine to the places where Christ had lived, simply a version of the Holy Places in Palestine that at that time could not be reached by Christian pilgrims. The artist Guadenzio Ferrari was involved and his work contributed to the Cappella Della Crocifissione and the great wall of the Chiesa Della Madonna delle Grazie. The Sacro Monte is made up of 45 chapels, from the Basilica dell’Assunta to the many other chapels on the mountain overlooking Varallo. Within the confines of the complex, the flora is an important part of the architecture, marking out the routes for the pilgrims and creating areas that are ideal for religious thought and reflection. Behind these chapels lies a defined spiritual experience which was influenced by the Order of Friars Minor Observants and then later by San Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan.
