In the Previous article OfficeNow business center accompanied you until the beginning of the construction of the route of the chapels of the Sacro Monte of Varese.
Today we will see in detail how the work was carried out and we will delve into the details of the chapels of the Sacro Monte of Varese that we encounter along the way.
The project obtained the approval of Cardinals Carlo and Federico Borromeo and Pope Paul V, the construction site remained open from 1604 to 1630 orders of the Varese architect Giuseppe Bernascone. A few more years However, the preparation of the three hundred statues and frescoes lasted path.
The Walk includes fourteen stages marked by the chapels of the Sacro Monte of Varese, plus the fifteenth which is located within the Sanctuary itself. Each chapel is different both in architecture and in layout along the ridge of the mountain.
The ramps connecting each chapel also have distances different and ultimately bridge a difference in altitude of 245 metres.
We now come to the description of the route and each chapel.
It is said that, over the centuries, approximately sixty million pilgrims have made the pilgrimage of Sacred Mount of Varese.
The route starts at the location called First chapel, where yes find a small churchImmaculate Conception and an arch from which the paved road begins of the chapels, about ten meters wide.
In the apse of the church yes find the statue of Mary crushing the dragon, while in the eight niches The statues of the Doctors who defended the dogma are visible on the walls by Francesco Silva. The frescoes, including 'The Council of Trent', are gods Lampugnani brothers (1624).
The first bow, said of Rosary, represents the beginning of Joyful Mysteries. At the top is the statue of Mary with the Child holding out the crown Rosary for pilgrims. The baroque statues on the sides depict S. Domenico and S. Francesco. To the right of the arch we find the fountain known as the Samaritan fountain.
Immediately after we have the first chapel, said byAnnunciation. The interior is very particular and, in some ways, unexpected, since it reproduces the room of a 17th century patrician house, with a wooden bed, spinning wheels, a sideboard and various kits. The internal statues, depicting the archangel Gabriel and Mary, they are by Cristoforo Prestinari (1610) and were donated by the town of Orta.
In the second chapel, called della Visitation, Mary's visit to her cousin is represented Elizabeth, mother of St. John the Baptist. The scene is well depicted by twelve terracotta statues, created by Silva. The frescoes are by Giovanni Paolo Ghianda (1624). On the external wall at midday there is a painting sundial surrounded by angels.
There third chapel, called della Nativity, it hosts the classic Nativity Scene, made up of fourteen terracotta statues by Martino Retti. The statue of Baby Jesus is placed on a real manger wood. The frescoes on the walls are by Carlo Francesco Nuvolone (1658), also the author of the large external painting which unfortunately deteriorated and was replaced, in 1983, from a large mural by Renato Guttuso, depicting the 'Flight to Egypt‘.
Right away then we come across the fourth chapel, called della Presentation in the Temple. The scene depicted is that of presentation of Jesus to the priest Simeon in the Temple. Inside we find as many as twenty terracotta statues created by Francesco Silva (1617). John Ghisolfi took care of the frescoes (1662), among which the 'Heaven with God and the Angels'.
The fifth chapel is called the Jesus' Dispute with the Doctors. The scene is represented in the temple of Jerusalem with twenty-two statues by Silva and painted by Nuvolone in 1651. The latter supervised also the internal frescoes, among which a 'Vision' can be recognised of the Apocalypse' and 'The Ark of the Covenant'.
At this point the first series of chapels depicted ends the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and we find the second arch dedicated to San Carlo.
Don't miss the next appointment because OfficeNow business center will continue the journey along the Sacro Monte of Varese.