Sacro Monte di Varallo

The Sacro Monte di Varallo is the oldest, largest and most spectacular of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, a UNESCO World Heritage devotional complex set on a wooded hilltop above the town of Varallo in the Valsesia, in north-eastern Piedmont. It was conceived at the end of the fifteenth century by the Franciscan friar Bernardino Caimi, who wished to recreate the holy places of Jerusalem for pilgrims unable to travel to the Holy Land, and it grew over the following centuries into an entire sacred citadel. The route winds among gardens, courtyards and a hilltop basilica, linking some forty-five chapels that stage the life of Christ from the Annunciation to the Crucifixion with astonishing realism: each chapel contains life-sized painted terracotta and wooden statues, more than eight hundred figures in total, set against frescoed backgrounds by artists including Gaudenzio Ferrari, so that visitors look in on three-dimensional scenes of extraordinary emotional power. The scale and artistry make it one of the great religious art ensembles of Italy, and the hilltop also offers wide views over the Valsesia. A visit usually takes around two hours, longer to study the chapels in detail. The complex is free to enter, open during daylight, and reached either by a steep footpath from Varallo or, far more easily, by the historic funivia cable car that climbs from the town. The site is busiest on summer weekends and feast days; weekdays and the shoulder seasons are quieter, and morning or late-afternoon light suits both the chapels and the valley views. It is a profound and unmissable highlight of the Piedmont mountains.