The Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy

Wednesday, 25 March 2009 00:00

The Sacri Monti (Italian for “Sacred Mountains”) of Piedmont and Lombardy are a series of nine groups of chapels and other architectural features created in northern Italy during the seventeenth and late sixteenth century. They are dedicated to various aspects of the Christian faith and are considered to be 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 In 2003, they were included in the world heritage list because they represent the successful integration of architecture and fine art into a landscape of great beauty for spiritual reasons at a critical period in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, and had a profound influence on subsequent developments elsewhere in Europe. The model of the Sacred Mountain is a Christian creation dating from the late fifteenth century that during the Counter-Reformation spread from Italy to Europe and the New World. A Sacred Mountain is a devotional complex standing on the slopes of a mountain, with a series of chapels or kiosks containing scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary or the Saints, in the form of painting or sculptures.
As a re-evocation of the New Jerusalem, Sacred Mountains offered pilgrims an opportunity to visit the Holy Places by conjuring up, on a smaller scale, the buildings in which Christ’s Passion took place. The Sacred Mountains stand on high ground, at some distance from the town centre, in a more natural setting. They are usually reached by pilgrimage.
The itinerary leading up to the Sacred Mountain often re-evokes the Via Dolorosa, the road leading from Jerusalem to Calvary along which Christ carried the Cross.

The Sacro Monte of New Jerusalem, Varallo Sesia
It is the oldest of the Italian and foreign constructions of its kind. It was founded in 1491, by friar Bernardino Caimi of the Ordine dei Minori Osservanti di San Francesco. The Sacro Monte was built on a rocky foundation, positioned on the slopes of Monte Tre Croci (Mount of three crosses), on the left-hand side of the river Sesia. It comprises the Basilica and 45 chapels, either isolated or inserted into the large monumental complexes Nazareth, Bethlehem, Pilate’s house, Calvary, Sepulchre and Parella’s house – populated by more than 800 life size painted statues, in wood and terracotta, that dramatically illustrate the life, passion, death and resurrection of Christ. These interiors are vividly decorated with fresco paintings. The Sacro Monte area is divided into two distinct zones. The first, surrounded by plants, is set out like a sloping garden; here the chapels are positioned at strategic points along the path. Beginning with Adam and Eve or Original Sin, they narrate the story of Christ, from the Annunciation until his arrival in Bethlehem. The second zone, preceded by the Porta Aurea, is located on the summit, and is built up of palazzi and elaborate porticos, built around the two squares; piazza dei Tribunali and Piazza del Tempio. The aim here, was to represent the city of Jerusalem; it does indeed have a city feel about it. The chapels narrate the events of Christ’s life inside and around the walls of Jerusalem; here are The Last Supper, The Burial, The Resurrection of Christ and The Assumption of the Madonna, to which the basilica is also dedicated. The urban character of this Sacro Monte clearly distinguishes it from the others.

The Sacro Monte of Santa Maria Assunta, Crea
It is reached via a steeply ascending route which winds through a wooded natural park, whose flora where catalogued by the Casalese photographer and polymath Francesco Negri. Construction began in 1589, around an existing sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary whose creation is traditionally attributed to Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, around 350 AD. Eusebius is also said to have installed the statue of the Madonna which is still venerated in the sanctuary. The chapels dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary were positioned around the one thousand year old Marian sanctuary on the highest of the hills of Basso Monferrato . As time passed the initial scheme of the monumental layout was altered on a number of occasions and in 1820 significant restoration work began after its partial destruction.

The Sacro Monte of San Francesco, Orta San Giulio
It can be found on the summit of a hill known as San Nicola, which faces the western short of Lake Orta. Construction of the complex, dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, began in 1583. The project by the Capuchin friar Cleto da Castelletto Ticino involved 36 chapels, of which only 20 were built.
Until 1630 they were mostly in the Mannerist style, but from the mid-17th century Baroque and other influences predominated. Construction ended in 1788. Many of the artworks are of a high quality, some of the most highly thought of painters and sculptors of the period having been commissioned to produce them. The vegetation of the Sacred Mountain runs down to the shores of Lake Orta and was designed in line with ornamental criteria to match the architecture.

The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin, Oropa
It was begun in 1617, near the pre-existing Sanctuary of Virgin Mary, one of the oldest in Piedmont and one of the best known in the region of the Alps.
The 12 chapels (plus another seven nearby) are united by a devotional path, and inside these chapels scenes from the story of the life of the Virgin Mary are represented. The minute dimensions and expressions of the characters, the shades and colour tones and the vivid, precise settings of the episodes envelop the visitor in a warm atmosphere which grows from one chapel to the other until reaching Paradise (chapel XV – The Crowning of Mary), on the top of the hill, a Baroque work of art by the brothers Giovanni and Antonio d’Enrico, animated by 156 modelled figures. The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin of Succour, Ossuccio
The devotional complex is located on a prealpine crag some 200 metres above the western shore Lake Como, facing Isola Comacina and some 25 km from the city of Como. Surrounded by olive groves and woodland, it is quite isolated from other buildings.
The fourteen chapels, constructed between 1635 and 1710 in the typical Baroque style reflecting the Counter Reformation ethos of the sacre monte movement, are joined by a path which leads up to a pre-existing sanctuary of 1532 placed on the summit and dedicated to La Beata Vergine del Soccorso.

The Sacro Monte of the Holy Trinity, Ghiffa
It overlooks the Lake Maggiore and is dedicated to the mystery of the Trinity. It was influenced by a pre-existing small oratory on Mount Cariago. The panoramic view over the Piedmont side of Lake Maggiore displays a high level of compositional architecture and landscape research. The monumental complex is not homogeneous but remains incomplete and the authors and founders are anonymous.
The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary Crowned was the first to be constructed in 1647.
The portico of Via Crucis, erected in the 17th century, underlines the shift from the themes of the Counter Reformation to that of the Passion of Christ.

The Sacro Monte and Calvary, Domodossola
Situated on the Mattarella Hill, overlooking Domodossola, it was built in 1657 in response to the wishes of the Capuchin friars, Gioacchino da Cassano and Andrea da Rho. The chapels, dedicated to the Via Crucis, are positioned along a devotional route which starts on the outskirts of Domodossola and ends at the summit of Mount Mattarella. The sanctuary on the summit was consecrated in 1690 and in 1828 the philosopher priest, Antonio Rosmini, founded the Institute of Charity. Over the centuries the Sacred Mountain has undergone various modifications, rebuilding and restoration including, in 1957, the wooden statues in the chapels.

The Sacro Monte of Belmonte, Valperga
It was built in 1712 at the initiative of the Friar Minor Michelangelo da Montiglio. After interruptions, building work on the chapel was resumed in 1759 and in 1825.
The complex located in the Canavese is dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary, and it starts from and returns to the Sanctuary. The chapels are built at set intervals: the details of their construction, the shapes and the embellishment used are often identical, leading to the supposition that they are the work of a single architect who has remained anonymous.