Sacro Monte di Domodossola

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Sacro Monte di Domodossola

The Sacro Monte di Domodossola (also Monte Calvario ) is a pilgrimage site in Domodossola, Italy, in the Piedmont region . It belongs to the group of pre-alpine Sacri Monti , which were included in the list of " World Heritage Sites " by UNESCO in 2003.

history

In 1656, two Capuchins chose the Colle Mattarella hill above Domodosso to make it a place of pilgrimage. Twelve chapels were created in which the stations of the cross are depicted in statues or on frescoes , with an additional chapel for the representation of the resurrection of Christ . On the summit of Colle Mattarella rises the octagonal pilgrimage church of the Holy Cross, construction of which began in 1657.

In the park of the Sacro Monte di Domodossola are the remains of the Mattarella Castle, which was destroyed in 1415 by the Swiss soldiers who wanted to conquer the Ossola Valley and wrest it from the Duchy of Milan . In 1656, two Capuchins from Domodossola Monastery, Fr. Gioacchino from Cassano and Fr. Andrea from Rho, decided to build stations of the Cross on the slopes of Colle Matarella, leading to a church consecrated with a Holy Cross. It was planned to gradually replace the crosses with chapels for the individual stations of the cross.

The bishop Guido Maria Odescalchi commissioned the legal scholar Giovanni Matteo Capis to coordinate the project and named the hill, Monte Calvario ("Calvary"), because the places of worship of the Sacri Monti ("holy mountains") are not or no longer for many pilgrims should symbolize accessible places in the Holy Land . The management of the construction work and the technical execution were handed over to the architect Tomaso Lazzaro from the Val d'Intelvi . On July 8, 1657, the foundation stone was laid for the pilgrimage site and in March 1662 the first Holy Mass was celebrated at the altar on which a crucifix by Dionigi Bussola had been erected immediately before. A great benefactor and financier of the project was Kaspar Stockalper , a trader, notary and governor from Valais who was forced to exile in Domodossola, right on Monte Calvario, where his figure in the XV. Chapel of the Sacro Monte of St. Kaspar, embodied one of the Magi . The project to build the chapels was completed in the 18th century; Since then, its furnishings have been constantly restored or renewed; the most recent statues from 1957 are carved from wood.

The building complex of the Sacro Monte Calvario consists of the pilgrimage church SS. Crocifisso - as a baroque-style hall with an octagonal floor plan - and twelve chapels with different floor plans. Stations XII, XIII, XIV of the Way of the Cross are in the pilgrimage church, one on the altar and two in a chapel each. In the church there is another chapel, which has the theme of the cross vision, which the Emperor Constantine prophesied the victory over Maxentius . Outside is the paradise chapel with the scene of the resurrection. Another chapel, which does not belong to the Way of the Cross, was built in 1694 with the reproduction of the Holy House in Loreto - as already happened in Graglia .

The arrival of the priest and philosopher Antonio Rosmini in 1828 gave new impetus to the work on the Sacro Monte Calvario. Rosmini had the motherhouse of the Istituto della Carità built on the top of the hill. The Sacro Monte is of great importance to the Rosminians : because this is where the international novitiate is located . Numerous Rosminians are buried here, including the philosopher Michele Federico Sciacca .

When visiting the Sacro Monte, it is possible to enter the Rosminis cell . One of his relics has also been located here since 2007 . Believers who have visited the Sacro Monte di Domodossola over the years include the Bishop of Novara, Renato Corti , his predecessor, Aldo Del Monte, and the Cardinals Carlo Maria Martini and Angelo Bagnasco .

Since 1990 the Sacro Monte Calvario has been part of the complex of sites that are classified by the Piedmont region as "special nature reserves". In 2003, UNESCO declared the Sacro Monte of Domodossola a World Heritage Site.

Artistic profile

The most significant contribution to the creation of the chapels on Monte Calvario came from the Milanese modeler Dionigi Bussola (1615–1686). After a stay in Rome, where he studied the sculptural models by Bernini and Algardi , and working as a head sculptor at the Milan Cathedral , Bussola was able to work in 1660 in the Basilica dell'Assunta at the Sacro Monte di Varallo and at the Sacro Monte in Domodossola Express. Most of the sculptures in the pilgrimage site, Station XII, were made by him. to XIV and the statues of the prophets in the hall church. Statues from stations II, IV and XV also come from his workshop. Among the artists is Giuseppe Rusnati (around 1650–1713) from Gallarate , a pupil of Bussola. He completed the work of his master and created the last statues of the XV. Station, the resurrection.

The painters include the Milanese Giovanni Sampietro and Lorenzo Peracino from Valsesia (both 18th century), the brothers Giovanni Antonio and Giuseppe Antonio Maria Torricelli from Lugano , of whom the frescoes in the VIII. And XI. Chapel, and to the sculptor Stefano Salterio from Laglio , who created the terracotta statues in the 8th chapel.

The Sacro Monte di Domodossola is the only one among the Sacri Monti that has its own musical facility, the Cappella Musicale del Sacro Monte Calvario. It was founded in 1995 and combines the activities of the Schola Gregoriana des Sacro Monte Calvario (1995), the Choir of Calice (1974), the Camerata Strumentale by S. Quirico (1989), the Convivio Rinascimentale (1997) and the Chamber Orchestra of the Cappella Musicale of S. Monte Calvario of Domodossola (2003).

Individual evidence

  1. http://www.sacrimonti.net/User/index.php?PAGE=Sito_deu/sacri_monti_del_piemonte_e_della_lombardia

Web links

Coordinates: 46 ° 6 ′ 20 ″  N , 8 ° 17 ′ 13 ″  E