Sacro Monte di Varallo

Ecce Homo by Giovanni d'Enrico in the XXXIII chapel, around 1608

The pilgrimage site of Sacro Monte di Varallo is located in the municipality of Varallo in the Italian province of Vercelli ( Piedmont region ). As one of the Sacri Monti , it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.

history

The places of worship of the Sacri Monti ("holy mountains") were intended to symbolize the places in the Holy Land that were not or no longer accessible for many pilgrims . The construction of the pilgrimage site consisting of 45 individual buildings on the Sacro Monte di Varallo began in 1491 at the instigation of the Franciscan brother Bernard Caimi; the holy mountain of Varallo is the oldest of its kind. Br. Caimi was previously rector of the holy places in Palestine and ambassador of Spain. He wanted to build Jerusalem for those who could not make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

The names of the architects and painters who created the works are comparatively unknown, paintings and sculptures are almost exclusively of high quality. The chapels consist of a small vestibule that you can enter. From there, the visitor can view the respective scenery. The painter Gaudenzio Ferrari was the first artistic director. In the middle of the 16th century, St. Charles Borromeo . The complex was largely completed by 1650. In the buildings there are 600 life-size figures made of wood and terracotta and over 4000 painted figures, which are primarily intended to show the viewer the life and death of Jesus Christ . The chapels below show depictions that preceded the birth of Christ, such as the Fall and the Annunciation of the Lord . A second area, which you enter through the so-called Golden Gate, symbolizes sites in ancient Jerusalem. Here you can find other depictions of the Last Supper, the Passion and the Resurrection of Christ as well as the assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven. The pilgrimage church from 1614, which was elevated to a minor basilica, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary .