03.17.06
Sacro Monte of San Francesco in Orta. The Sacro Monte of the Italian Lakes.
Sacro Monte of San Francesco in Orta. The Sacro Monte of the Italian Lakes.
The Sacro Monte of San Francesco of Orta San Giulio was built in 1590 on the cliff overlooking the village of Orta, the lake and the island of San Giulio. The shrine is dedicated to the life of St Francis of Assisi. It was built with the support of Bishop Bescapè. The route takes in 21 chapels painted with frescoes and adorned by groups of life-size statues in terracotta illustrating the life of San Francesco. The designer of the project, Padre Cleto da Castelletto Ticino complemented the shrines by intergrating the surrounding fauna and landscape into the project. Artists who contributed to the project were the sculptors, Dionigi Bussola, Cristoforo Prestinari, Giovanni and Melchiorre d’Enrico; the frescoes are attributed to the Nuvolone brothers and Antonio Maria Crespi.
