Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy

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Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy¹
UNESCO World Heritage Site

State Party	Italy
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Identification	#1068
Region2	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	2003 27th WH Committee Session
WH link:	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1068
1 Name as officially inscribed on the WH List 2 As classified officially by UNESCO

The Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy were chosen to become a World Heritage site in Northern Italy in the year 2003.

The nine Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) of northern Italy 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.

The model of the Sacred Mountain is a Christian creation dating from the late 15th century, that during the Counter-Reformation spread from Italy to Europe and the New World. A Sacred Mountain in a devotional complex standing on the slopes of a mountain, with a series of chapels or kiosks containing scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary or the Saints, in the form of painting or sculptures. As a re-evocation of the New Jerusalem, Sacred Mountains offered pilgrims an opportunity to visit the Holy Places by conjuring up, on a smaller scale, the buildings in which Christ's Passion took place. The Sacred Mountains stand on high ground, at some distance from the town centre, in a more natural setting. They are usually reached by pilgrimage. The itinerary leading up to the Sacred Mountain often re-evokes the Via Dolorosa, the road leading from Jerusalem to Calvary along which Christ carried the Cross.

The Nine Sacri Monti are:

• 1. The Sacro Monte or Nuova Gerusalemme (New Jerusalem) of Varallo Sesia (1486)

(Comune of Varallo Sesia - Vercelli)

• 2. The Sacro Monte of Santa Maria Assunta, Serralunga di Crea (1589)

(Comune of Ponzano Monferrato, Serralunga di Crea - Alessandria)

• 3. The Sacro Monte of San Francesco, Orta San Giulio (1590)

(Comune of Orta San Giulio - Novara)

• 4. The Sacro Monte of the Rosary, Varese (1598)

(Comune of Varese - Varese)

• 5. The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin, Oropa (1617)

(Comune of Biella - Biella)

• 6. The Sacro Monte of the Blessed Virgin of Succour, Ossuccio (1635)

(Comune of Como - Como)

• 7. The Sacro Monte of the Holy Trinity, Ghiffa (1591)

(Comune of Ghiffa - Verbania)

• 8. The Sacro Monte and Calvary, Domodossola (1657)

(Comune of Domodossola - Verbania)

• 9. The Sacro Monte of Belmonte, Valperga (1712)

(Comunes of Cuorgnè, Pertusio, Prascorsano, Valperga - Torino)

[edit] External links

• Unesco Site

• Official web site for European Sacred Mounts All information relative to Sacri Monti in Piedmont and Lombardy is available in Italian and English.

• The nine Sacro Monte of the Italian lakes. The nine Sacro Monte of the Italian lakes were developed for pilgrims in the 15th and 16th centuries as an alternative to traveling to the holy land.

• The Chapels of the Sacro Monte Varese The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte and the 14 Chapels, dedicated to the mysteries of the Rosary.