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At the Sacred Mount of Ghiffa

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  We continue our series on the Sacred Mounts by heading into the Verbano area. The Sacred Mount of Ghiffa is located along the slopes of Mount Cargiago, in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Piedmont region). This Sacred Mount consists of three chapels, dedicated respectively to the Coronation of the Virgin Mary, to Saint John the Baptist, and to Abraham. The path is completed by the 18th-century portico with fourteen arches that hosts the Via Crucis, flanked by the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows and the Sanctuary of the Holy Trinity. It is the smallest among the Sacred Mounts of Piedmont. On Mount Cargiago, overlooking the western shore of Lake Maggiore, a Romanesque oratory dedicated to the Trinity had already been built in the 13th century. This is a special place, considered miraculous by local tradition and, as such, a destination for pilgrimages. Dirt roads and trails once connected the lake to Mount Cargiago, making it easier for pilgrims to travel. Along these mule tra...
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Admiring the Madonna of Crea

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We continue our journey among Piedmont's Sacred Mountains by going to Monferrato. The Sacred Mount of Crea , one of the most important sacred places in Piedmont. is located near Serralunga di Crea, in the province of Alessandria, on one of the highest hills of Monferrato. According to tradition, Saint Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, climbed the mountain in 350 with a wooden statue of the Madonna and Child and, in that area, founded an oratory where he took refuge to escape the persecution of the Arians. A 9th-century manuscript represents the earliest evidence of the place's name, putting it squarely in the context of the spread of Christianity by Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, with the aim of eliminating paganism by replacing Celtic female deities with the cult of the Virgin Mary. Around the year 1000, the canons regular of the Abbey of St Mary of Vezzolano settled in Crea. They were succeeded by the Lateran Monks in 1483. The first mention of a church, later transformed into a...
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At the Sacro Monte of Domodossola

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  We discover this Sacro Monte above the main centre of the Ossola. The Sacro Monte Calvario of Domodossola stands on the Mattarella hill, once a fortification of the ancient Oscella, founded by the Celtic, or Ligurian, population of the Leponzi, on the banks of the Bogna stream in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. On the way to Sacro Monte is the Romanesque church of San Quirico, located on a rocky spur on the slopes of the Mattarella hill, containing interior frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries. At the top of the hill is the Sanctuary of the Holy Cross, whose construction dates back to 1657. At the top of the slope, there is a house built in 1681 by the Valais baron Gaspare Stockalper della Torre di Briga, governor of Valais and entrepreneur, who was forced into exile in Ossola, right on Monte Calvario. He was the great financier of the Sacro Monte project. His home, which has been restored, is now the seat of the offices of the ‘Special Nature Reserve’. The ‘Via ...
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Discovering the Sacro Monte of Belmonte

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  Today we are in Canavese with this other wonderful complex. The Sacro Monte di Belmonte is located at the beginning of the Orco Valley and dominates the municipality of Valperga, which is located in the Canavese area of Piedmont. Recent archaeological excavations have ascertained that the hill was inhabited in prehistoric times, and signs of Longobard settlements and important clues dating back to the late Roman Empire and the early Middle Ages have also been found. The Sanctuary is located at the centre of two different groups of chapels and two separate routes. From Valperga, an uphill path, carved into the red granite of the mountain in the second half of the 19th century, leads to the church. When you reach the top, you have the chance to admire the wide panorama sweeping over the Canavese. In addition, one is enchanted by the extraordinary natural beauty of the place, where the red colour of the granite alternates with the green colour of the vegetation and the sandy gull...
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The New Jerusalem: the Sacred Mount of Varallo

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  An example of how art can be an instrument for the dissemination of faith. The  Sacro Monte of Varallo Sesia  is located in the municipality of Varallo, in Valsesia, province of Vercelli. The itinerary begins at the church of  S. Maria delle Grazie  built, together with the convent, at the end of the 15th century, based on an idea of the blessed Franciscan friar Bernardino Caimi. Inside, the partition wall separating the nave from the presbytery was frescoed by the painter Gaudenzio Ferrari with scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, creating a perfect recapitulation of Sacro Monte. The complex is considered an authentic artistic jewel in the centre of Valsesia and is located on the slopes of Monte Tre Croci, where the Mastallone stream flows into the Sesia River. The Sacro Monte rises on a rocky wall, about 600 metres above sea level, and consists of the Basilica dell'Assunta, built during the 17th century in Baroque style, and forty-four chapels, some of whic...
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Art hunting: the Palazzina di Stupinigi

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Once a hunting lodge, it is now one of the most beautiful residences in Piedmont. The Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi is a the the the the the the the the hunting pal the King of the Belgians was the owner of. The palace was built by Victor Amadeus II of Savoy between 1729 and 1733 to the that of the architect Filippo Juvarra and is located in the that of Nichelino, 5 km from Turin. This palace is, in chronological order, the last of the extra-urban royal residences built by the House of Savoy.  The plan of the building consists of a large oval-shaped central hall from which four arms depart to form a St Andrew's cross. The architectural complex soars forward and encompasses a large octagonal courtyard, overlooked by various buildings. At the entrance to the building is the original statue of a deer made by sculptor Francesco Ladatte in 1766. In the flat of Benedetto Maria di Savoia, duke of Chiablese and son of Charles Emmanuel III, are the hall of mirrors, in Rococo style; t...
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From Turin to the Alps: Susa

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  We discover this town, in the context of the valley of the same name, on our way from the Po Valley to France. Susa , called the ‘Jewel of the Cottian Alps’, is a municipality in the province of Turin, located in the upper valley of the Dora Riparia and lies in the centre of the valley of the same name. A short distance from the confluence of the two roads of Moncenisio and Monginevro, it has been of great strategic importance since ancient times due to its position, with the name of Segusium , being also the capital of the Kingdom of the Cozii, the starting point of the Via Domizia, the Via Cozia and a stop along the Itinerarium Burdigalense and the Via Francigena. Moreover, it is not surprising that Susa was already flourishing in trade a few centuries before the Christian era, although it was only after the Roman conquest that it took on the connotations of a proper city, with a forum, thermal baths and a small amphitheatre, built in the 2nd century AD; the latter was disco...
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