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CULTURE
Sacro Monte di Varallo and Madonna delle Grazie
The extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage monumental complex
The Sacro Monte di Varallo is an extraordinary monumental complex that towers above Varallo Sesia. Protected by UNESCO since 2003, it was initiated by Blessed Bernardino Caimi, who, returning from the Holy Land at the end of the 1400s, chose Varallo to create a "New Jerusalem" allowing the faithful to experience the pilgrimage to these places. Varallo is the first Sacro Monte ever built, marking the beginning of their history between Piedmont and Lombardy.
Activities
Culture
Recommended period
all year round
Duration
in one day
Location
Varallo Sesia (450 meters)
Is a ticket required
no
Seventy years later, San Carlo Borromeo also became interested in the Sacro Monte, providing new impetus to the project (to which the last chapel is dedicated).
The complex of buildings was built over a couple of centuries and consists of 44 chapels and a Basilica. It resembles a fortified city, with walls encircling it and a monumental entrance gate. Completing the layout are two squares, palaces, arcades, and intricate streets that guide visitors through the life of Jesus to the Holy Sepulchre. The "inhabitants" of this city are, however, the statues, over eight hundred, both wood and terracotta. To enhance the artistic value, already priceless in itself, are the more than three thousand frescoes.
Starting from the 1500s, the Sacro Monte experienced the works of the great Valsesian artist Gaudenzio Ferrari: with him, the sculptures became three-dimensional, and the expressions of the characters brought an extraordinary realism within the chapels, where painting and sculpture perfectly dialogue to create astonishing effects: the viewer cannot help but feel part of what they observe.
Lastly, how can we forget the recognition of the Sacro Monte as a Special Nature Reserve: the approximately 420 species present in the Sacro Monte park complete the charm of an indescribable place.
The sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie is considered the prologue and synthesis of the experience at the Sacro Monte. The church was built together with the attached Franciscan convent by Father Bernardino Caimi between 1486 and 1493, simultaneously with the start of the works on the Sacro Monte. In 1931, Pope Pius IX elevated the church to the dignity of minor basilica. With its simple late Gothic forms, it has the appearance of a typical Franciscan church: essential on the outside but rich in its interiors. The large Gaudenziana Wall (dated 1513) houses a breathtaking fresco by Gaudenzio Ferrari, the most renowned Renaissance painter of this territory, depicting the life and Passion of Christ in 20 well-defined episodes, covering a total area of over 10 meters and a height of 8 meters. From the Annunciation to the Resurrection of Christ, the scenes unfold in chronological order, dominated by the large and dramatic scene of the Crucifixion, which occupies more than double the space of the others.
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