The Sacro Monte di Ghiffa

THE SACRO MONTE DI GHIFFA

The Sacro Monte di Ghiffa (or Sacred Mount of the Holy Trinity) is inserted in the group of pre-alpine Sacred Mounts included in 2003 list of "World Heritage Sites." Between the end of the sixteenth and mid-seventeenth century, was conceived a building plan for the expansion of the ancient chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the construction, around it, a Sacred Mountain on the hill covered by woods with lovely views of the Lake Maggiore. Other construction work took place between the mid-seventeenth century and the next. In its current state the sacred mountain includes, in addition to the sanctuary, three chapels dedicated to different biblical subjects and the elegant portico of the Via Crucis.

The Sacro Monte di Ghiffa is set along the wooded slopes of Mount Cargiago, above the village of Ronco, 360 meters s.l.m., with sweeping views of Lake Maggiore. On that site it was already present, in advance of construction, a building of worship dear to the religious faith of the local people.

The Sacro Monte di Ghiffa presents its unitary physiognomy, given by happy realized synthesis, around the sanctuary, between nature and architecture.
To balance the rustic severity of the sanctuary combine the porch of the Cross and especially the two elegant baroque chapels octagonal placed on the forecourt. It is, as has been said, the Coronation of the Virgin chapel with a beautiful portico at the front entrance that rises above some rocky outcrops, and St. John the Baptist chapel with the ring porch that surrounds it.
The third chapel - said Abramo- lower-mail to a hundred meters away from the sanctuary - is a cruciform plan and was built with interesting architectural solutions. Creeping through the trees, it offers an idea of how he could be the devotional path that you had to scramble along the wooded slope.

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