Sacri Monti Of Piedmont And Lombardy
Italy Buffer zone: 722 ha
Identification
** UNESCO Geographical Classification
The UNESCO has listed the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy in the World Heritage of Humanity in 2003.
History
The Sacred Mountains of Piedmont and Lombardy have emerged at the turn of the centuryXV and XVI century , the idea of creating in Europe places of prayer as an alternative to the holy places of Jerusalem and Palestine, more and more difficult to access for pilgrims because of the rapid expansion of Muslim culture. The friars , guardians of the Holy Sepulchre selected three sites - Varallo in Valsesia , belonging to the Duchy of Milan , Montaione in Tuscany , and Braga in northern Portugal - to build "new Jerusalem", a design and a topography similar to the original. After a few years, especially after the Council of Trent in 1535 , this model, including that of Varallo, built around 1480 , was used for other reasons, especially in the dioceses under the jurisdiction of the Curia of Milan. This time it was to combat the influence of the Protestant Reformation by promoting the creation of other sacred mountains as concrete expressions of their religious education. They were dedicated not only to Christ but also the cult of the Virgin Mary , saints, the Trinity and the Rosary.
This ideal project, specific standards in terms of type and architectural styles, was strongly supported by Charles Borromeo , bishop of Milan. According to the ideas stemmed from the Council of Trent, he finished the Sacro Monte of Varallo before starting work on the others. This phase continued throughout the seventeenth century until the mid eighteenth century. At Varallo succeeded by the sacred mountains of Crea , Orta , Varese , Oropa , Ossuccio , Ghiffa , Domodossola and Valperga. If they followed some basic rules initially, they developed over their construction of artistic and architectural aspects. Other sacred mountains were designed and constructed throughout the eighteenth century , but many of them were nothing more than examples of different styles, lacking religious motivation, authenticity of the composition of the high standards and magnificent architectural and artistic elements that characterized the first phase of the sixteenth century and seventeenth century.
Description
Sacro Monte or "new Jerusalem" of Varallo
The work began in the last decade of the fifteenth century , to reconstruct the landscape of the Holy Land on a hill overlooking the rocky town of Varallo. Several chapels containing life-size statues and frescoes almost depicting various biblical sites, were erected. The theme was changed at the end of the sixteenth century , under the influence of the Counter-Reformation to the Life and Passion of Christ. Many artists and sculptors contributed to the work. Currently, the route includes the first re-creations of Nazareth and Bethlehem in a wooded, landscaped gardens and 45 chapels along the main path. The hilltop is dedicated to an evocation of the city of Jerusalem.
The Sacro Monte of Our Lady of the Assumption, Serralunga di Crea and Ponzano
The Origins of Sacred Mount of Crea back to 1589 , when a project to build 25 chapels illustrating the mysteries of the Rosary on one of the highest passes in the region of Monferrato was born. But it evolved over time, and now comprises 23 chapels and five hermitages. The complex includes aiso buildings of the sanctuary of the Assumption of the Virgin, Romanesque in origin, but which undergoes various modifications to the fifteenth century , seventeenth century and XIX century XX century. The chapels contain statuary in polychrome terracotta and paintings dating from the first period. These were supplemented by others (plaster) for the restoration campaign in the nineteenth century. The woods are located where the chapels are home to many rare flora.
The Sacro Monte of St. Francis, Orta San Giulio
This complex, the only one dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi , was built in three phases. The first, marked by the mannerism began in 1590 on the orders of the local community to continue until 1630 or so. The second, where the baroque style is predominant, continued until the end of the seventeenth century , with a freer form of baroque combination with other influences in the third period, until the late eighteenth century.
The complex consists of 21 chapels , the old Hospice of St. Francis, a monumental gateway and a fountain. This sacred mountain is unique in that no changes were made to the layout since the sixteenth century. The garden is of exceptional quality, with a magnificent view of Lake Orta.
The Sacro Monte of the Rosary, Varese
Originally the Sacro Monte of Varese , is the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte, a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. The sacred mountain was built after the Council of Trent. Work began in 1604 , along a paved path 2 km representing the Mysteries of the Rosary, become increasingly popular since the Battle of Lepanto ( 1571 ). With lavish donations construction was much faster than other sacred mountains, and thirteen chapels were completed in 1623. In 1698 , she was finished, in its current form, with 15 chapels, the latter was erected in the sanctuary in 1474 at the top. Like the rosary itself, they are divided into five groups of five. The architecture of chapels, wells and fountains is varied, and their ornamentation, statues and frescoes.
The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin, Oropa
One of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary , which attracted many pilgrims, devotees, is the sanctuary of Oropa , near Biella. Although work began on the Sacro Monte as an annex to the shrine in 1617 , it was not completed until late late seventeenth century. The idea was originally to describe the life of the Virgin Mary in twenty chapels, with five devoted to other elements of the New Testament. The project benefited from the patronage of the Duke of Savoy , in whose territory it was located.
The site, the highest since the group peaked at over 2300 meters, is a hill covered with beech trees and surrounded by Alpine peaks. Today there are 27 chapels, of which twelve depicting the life of the Virgin Mary and other various religious subjects. Their architectural styles typical of the baroque period during which they were built like statues and paintings that embellish them.
The Sacro Monte of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Ossuccio
This group is located on the western shore of Lake Como , 25 km north of the town of the same name, on a mountainside, and it rises 400 meters above sea level, facing the island of Comacina. Surrounded by fields, olive groves and woods, it is completely isolated from other buildings. The fourteen chapels, all built between 1635 and 1710 , are style baroque. The vegetation blends perfectly to them and adds to their appeal. They to a large extent the whole Varese. They lead to the shrine built in 1537 at the summit and symbolically completes the chain of the Rosary.
The Sacro Monte of the Holy Trinity, Ghiffa
Between the end of the sixteenth century and the mid- seventeenth century , a plan of building a sacred mountain around the ancient sanctuary of Holy Trinity, on this heavily wooded hillside, was established. However, during the first phase, only three chapels were erected. Hence an increase in the number of pilgrims traveling to visit the shrine : a vast effort of expansion took place between 1646 and 1649. In its current state, the sacred mountain has six chapels dedicated to different biblical themes and also three chapels, oratories or smaller.
Sacro Monte and Calvary, Domodossola
In 1656 two Capuchin friars chose the neck Mattarella overlooking Domodossola , to become the site of a sacred mountain and an ordeal. Thus was born a series of twelve chapels with statues and frescoes depicting the stations of the cross and three chapels for the Descent from the Cross, the Holy Sepulcher and the Resurrection. At the top of the pass is the sanctuary of the octagonal Holy Cross , whose construction began in 1657.
The Sacro Monte of Belmonte , Valperga Canavese
The hill of red granite Belmonte is away from the ridges of the chain of Piedmont. The monk Michelangelo da Montiglio was in the early eighteenth century , the idea of a sacred mountain in this place. Having spent several years in the Holy Land , he wanted to recreate the biblical sites in Italy 's north, and then drew a circuit chapels symbolizing the main events of the Passion leading to the tiny sanctuary , which had long been a place of pilgrimage. The chapels , thirteen in number, are almost identical in plan: they were financed and largely built by the natives. They were originally decorated with paintings of sacred subjects, works of local artisans: it is only a century later they were embellished by the addition of ceramic statues Castellamonte. The path was widened in the late nineteenth century , to reach the increasing numbers of pilgrims.
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