Sacro Monte di Ghiffa, Religious sanctuary in Ghiffa, Italy.
Sacro Monte di Ghiffa is a calvary and shrine on the western shore of Lake Maggiore, made up of three chapels dedicated to the Coronation of Mary, Saint John the Baptist, and Abraham. The chapels are set within a wooded hillside area and connected by a footpath that forms a devotional route.
The site was built starting in the late 16th century on the foundations of an older place of worship, when the local community decided to develop it into a more structured religious complex. Work continued into the early 17th century, when the three chapels took on the form they have today.
The chapels contain painted terracotta figures arranged in scenes that visitors can observe up close, a tradition shared by several sacred mountains in northern Italy. The chapel dedicated to the Coronation of Mary is the most elaborate of the three, with life-size figures gathered around a central altar.
The chapels are reached on foot along a woodland path that starts from the center of Ghiffa, so wearing comfortable shoes is a good idea. The route is not steep and can be walked at a relaxed pace, though the ground can be uneven in places.
This site is one of the smallest among the nine sacred mountains of Piedmont that together form a UNESCO World Heritage listing from 2003. Despite its modest size, it has a portico built in the 18th century that marks the start of the Via Crucis path and is rarely found in this form elsewhere in the area.
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