Short inroduction to Sacro Monte of Varese - English

1. THE SANCTUARY OF
SANTA MARIA DEL MONTE
The statue of Our Lady was solemnly crowned on
July 5, 1739 in the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del
Monte.
Entering the Basilica, a small door and a few steps
lead to the chapel of the two Beata Caterina da
Pallanza and Giuliana da Verghera (Busto Arsi-
zio), two hermits who lived in penitence in a cave
at the seventh Chapel, in the second half of the
fifteenth century, before commencing their life in
the cloistered Augustinian Monastery, which was
founded in 1476.
Sacro Monte
of Varese
Traditional sites
in the Province of Varese
THE MYSTERIES
Church of the Immaculate Conception
Arch of the Rosary
Joyful Mysteries:
1. Annunciation 2. Visitation 3. Nativity
4. Presentation to the Temple 5. The Finding in the Temple
Arch of St.Charles
Sorrowful Mysteries:
6. The Agony in the Garden 7. Scourging at the Pillar
8. Crowning with thorns 9. The Carrying of the Cross
10. Crucifixion
Arch of St. Ambrose
Glorious Mysteries
11. Resurrection 12. Ascension 13. Descent of the Holy
Spirit
14. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
15. The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin – Sanctuary

2. A devotional place:
The Holy Way
The Sanctuary of the Sacro Monte of
Varese is one of the most important of
the Sacri Monti, which are acknowled-
ged as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Located at a height of 883 m a.s.l., the
Sanctuary is the culmination of a route
taken by the faithful up the slopes of
Monte Velate.
The construction of the “Holy Way”
was started in 1604 by the Capuchin
friar Giovanni Battista Aguggiari, who
decided to erect 14 chapels dedicated to
the Mysteries of the Rosary along a 2
kilometre-long cobbled path through a
great wood of beech, chestnut and ha-
zel.
THE CHAPELS
The 14 chapels each have a portico of a
different design, and are embellished
with statues and frescoes by the major
Lombard artists of the 17th century,
including the local artist Pier Francesco
Mazzucchelli, called “il Morazzone”
after his native village; he was apprenti-
ced in Rome in the studio of Cavalier
D’Arpino, who at that time was the
teacher of Caravaggio.
The Chapels, like the mysteries of the
Rosary, are divided into groups of
five by three fountains and three
triumphal arches, and introduce
pilgrims to the Mysteries that accom-
pany them along the route.
The artistic styles of the large number
of frescoes in the chapels range from
Mannerism to Baroque, maintaining
a continuity and consistency with the
sacred purpose and faith typical of
a pilgrimage.
In 1983 Monsignor Pasquale Macchi
asked Renato Guttuso to paint a con-
temporary version of the Flight into
Egypt and his acrylic painting can be
seen on the outside wall of the chapel
of the Nativity.