The Via dei Sacri Monti between Piedmont and Lombardy

An itinerary that combines religion, art, culture and beauty and that, step by step, guides visitors in the footsteps of pilgrims, in a series of places that are unique for their peculiarities and characteristics. In 2003, the nine Sacred Mountains of Lombardy and Piedmont were recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site (Visit the Varese4U website).

The Via dei Sacri Monti of northern Italy are shared between Lombardy and Piedmont and touch on nine sacred ways which together with the spiritual dimension, unite particularities due to the history of pilgrimages, their location or the work of the artists who made them unique.

“The nine Sacred Mountains of northern Italy,” it is stated among the reasons for the recognition of UNESCO , “are groups of chapels and other architectural features created in the late 16th and 17th centuries and dedicated to different aspects of the Christian faith. In addition to their symbolic spiritual meaning, they are 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 Lombardy, the Sacred Mountains are two, one in Varese and the other in Ossuccio in the province of Como.

From the InLombardia site, portal of the Region dedicated to Tourism:

The sacred road that leads to the Sacro Monte of Varese is born in the city, in the district of Sant’Ambrogio, and then rises for two kilometres ,until it takes you to a splendid panoramic position that allows you to admire the pre-alpine plain and lakes.

The devotional complex of Ossuccio is instead located on a slope overlooking the town, with a view that sweeps over Lake Como and the Comacina Island. Also here are fourteen small temples distributed along the ascending path, before arriving at the final stop at the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso.

Together with the Sacred Mountains in Lombardy, seven are added in Piedmontese territory: they are the Sacred Mountains of Belmonte, Crea, Domodossola, Ghiffa, Oropa, Orta and Varallo Sesia. Find out more about the Sacred Mountains of Piedmont

The nine Sacred Mountains:

The Sacred Mountain or “Nuova Gerusalemme” di Varallo

The Sacred Mountain of Santa Maria Assunta, Serralunga di Crea

The Sacred Mountain of San Francesco, Orta San Giulio

The Sacred Mountain of the Rosario, Varese

The Sacred Mountain of the Beata Vergine, Oropa

The Sacred Mountain of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso, Ossuccio

The Sacred Mountain of the Santa Trinità, Ghiffa

The Sacred Mountain Calvario, Domodossola

The Sacred Mountain of Belmonte, Valperga