Santa Maria del Monte and the Black Madonna

Anyone who comes to Varese is welcomed by a sight that is truly without equal. In a harmonic and natural environment, the town lies under what seems to be an infinite sky, surrounded by a huge green expanse, the calm waters of the lake of glacial origin, and the Pre-Alps and Alps, with Monte Rosa capping them all. From Varese, it is possible to take a number of excursions into the surrounding areas. One of the most attractive places, because of how the environment and spirituality are interlaced, is Sacro Monte, one of the nine Sacred Pre-Alpine Mountains of Piedmont and Lombardy, which were acknowledged by UNESCO as World Heritage in 2003. Sacro Monte, in Varese, is undoubtedly the most fascinating Marian path in the world, a unique, extraordinary monument. Indeed, it faithfully reflects the concept of "asceticism", also thanks to the particular structure of the Rosary. The "sacred path" towards the "sacred peak" is the widest ever built on a sacred mountain specifically to facilitate the ascent of the masses along a path of catechism. The path consists of 14 chapels and the high altar of the Sanctuary, where there is an ancient, dark wooden statue of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven kept in an eighteenth century display case.

The View
Santa Maria del Monte (or Sacro Monte - 883 metres high) is one of the mountains in the Pre-Alps of Varese, immediately north of the town. Until 1927, it was a separate municipality, but was then absorbed by Varese. It is part of the regional park of Campo dei Fiori. It stands over the entrance to several valleys that stretch north, towards Switzerland. It provides a breath-taking view of the Maritime, Cottian, Graian, Pennine, Lepontine and Rhaetian Alps and of the Pre-Alps (the mountains: Argentera, Monviso, Rocciamelone, Levanne, Gran Paradiso, the chain of Monte Rosa, Rheinquellhorn, Monte Disgrazia). Towards the south there is the Po River plain dominated by the North Apennines and many lakes: Varese, Comabbio, Monate, Maggiore.

The Sacred Path
The Sacred Path of the Chapels of the Rosary was created in 1604, when G. Battista Aguggiari (a Capuchin friar) convinced Mother Superior Tecla Maria Cid to build a cobbled path that followed the steep mountain course, and the 14 chapels that present the Mysteries of the Rosary. Work lasted throughout the 17th century and benefited from the collaboration of the people. Many talented architects and sculptors, including Bussola, Prestinari and Silva, and painters, including Nuvolone, the Recchi brothers and P.F. Mazzucchelli (also known as Morazzone) contributed. The project was by the architect Giuseppe Bernascone.

The Sanctuary
The Sanctuary, which dates back to the end of the 15th century, and which represents the Glorious Mystery of the Coronation of Mary, was built against the heresies from north of the Alps. The exterior of the Sanctuary is from the Renaissance, and the interior is Baroque. There is an ancient wooden statue of the Virgin, which has now been restored. The paintings on the aisle walls are by artists such as Fiammenghino, Ghianda and the Lampugnani brothers. In 1900, the sculptor L. Pogliaghi worked on the baptismal font and on the frontal of the high altar. The choir and the organ are also noteworthy.

The Black Madonna T he path, which winds among the 14 chapels of Sacro Monte in Varese, reaches its conclusion in the contemplation of the ancient effigy of the Black Madonna, which has always been the destination of an endless flow of pilgrims. This image is dear to the people of Varese and is well-known throughout the diocese, as it is linked to the memory of St. Ambrose. According to an old tradition, the Sanctuary of Sacro Monte was founded by the Bishop of Milan in 381 A.D. in memory of the victory over the Arian heresy. This venerated wooden icon has been carefully restored.

The Museums of Sacro Monte A mong its precious artistic assets, Sacro Monte also boasts two museums: the Baroffio Museum and the recently restored Sanctuary Museum (www.museobaroffio.it), which, with its ancient collections, also houses those given in 1929 by Baron Baroffio Dall'Aglio. The museum contains paintings, sculptures, enlightened codices, coins, medals, ceramics, frontals and paraments donated over the centuries, as well as a section of contemporary sacred art. The Pogliaghi Museum, which is unfortunately now closed, is housed in the villa where the Milanese sculptor, L. Pogliaghi, lived until his death, in 1950. It contains examples of the artist's eclectic life, paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, archaeological findings, works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and Egyptian sarcophagi, the room of the Persian Shah, the cast of the front door of the Duomo in Milan.

Information: www.sacromontevarese.net