Of the many ways to find out more about the history of Piedmont, the pilgrim's way allows visitors to immerse themselves in the area's history and culture - with some unexpected surprises along the way. Many Romanesque churches line Via Francigena, the great arterial road that once joined Rome to the North Sea. It was used by both pilgrims and merchants alike as they travelled to the major fairs in the Champagne region that were common during medieval and Baroque times. A religious trail that never fails to astound travellers when they behold the majesty and opulence of the works of art, the pilgrim's way links the provinces of Alessandria, Novara, Vercelli and Biella in a quest for the Sacri Monti.
Sacro Monte di Crea (Alessandria) – work first started on this centre of great artistic and religious endeavour in 1590. Fifteen chapels were originally planned but the number has now risen to 23, together with hermitages. You can admire the reconstruction of events in the life of the Madonna, recounted in a series of statues, reliefs and deliberately-Realist paintings. The statues and paintings were produced by various artists including the Flemish sculptor Jean de Wespin known as Il Tabachetti and the painter Guglielmo Caccia known as Il Moncalvo.
Sacro Monte di Oropa (Biella) – the centre is laid out around three terraced piazzas and focuses on two places of worship: the Basilica Antica built at the beginning of the seventeenth century and the Chiesa Nuova, opened in 1960. These have been complemented over the years by other buildings, cloisters and a solemn stairway leading to the Porta Regia.
Outside the church walls stands the lovely Sacro Monte, made up of 19 chapels. The distinguished architects who contributed to their design included Filippo Juvarra, Guarino Guarini, Pietro Beltramo and others.
Sacro Monte di San Francesco (Orta San Giulio – Novara) - Sacro Monte d'Orta is a devotional path consisting of twenty frescoed chapels complemented by groups of life-size statues in terracotta illustrating the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. Building work on the religious complex began in 1590 and continued to the end of the eighteenth century.
Sacro Monte di Varallo Sesia (Vercelli) - This is certainly the most ancient of the Sacri Monti in terms of its year of foundation (1486). This Christian burial ground with its 50 chapels represents a unique holy citadel of inestimable merit. It boasts more than 800 statues in polychrome terracotta and wood depicting scenes representing the life, Passion and death of Christ. They were worked on by great artists who poured all their skills into the paintings and sculptures. The result of those endeavours is a deeply religious artistic experience imbued with great spirituality.
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