Here is the last set of photos from the Sacro Monte di Varese, one of northern Italy’s most beloved pilgrimage shrines, which I visited last week with the Schola Sainte Cécile. The mysteries of the Rosary are represented with life-sized painted statues and frescoes on the walls of a series of “chapels”, with the church at the top of the mountain representing the Coronation. Be sure to listen to the recording of the Schola singing Victoria’s Ave Maria! (The Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries were posted earlier this week.)
Each group of mysteries begins with a gate; the last one is dedicated to the Patron Saint of Milan, St Ambrose.
Each group of mysteries begins with a gate; the last one is dedicated to the Patron Saint of Milan, St Ambrose.
The Resurrection
The Ascension
Pentecost
currently under restoration... (ahem...)
The Assumption
Here begins the climb to the little town of Santa Maria del Monte; in winter, people come here to sled when it snows.
The pilgrims are welcomed for a drink of water (much needed at this point on a hot day) by this neo-classical fountain dedicated to Moses, in the last piazza before the stairs that bring you up into the town itself.
The Coronation of the Virgin Mary
is represented by the image of Her over the altar of the church, in which two angels are placing a crown on Her head.
The Ave Maria of Victoria, sung at the conclusion of the fifteenth mystery of the Rosary.
The relic chapel is known as the “Cappella delle Beate - the Chapel of the Blesseds”, from the relics of Catherine Moriggi (1437-78) and Giuliana Puricelli (1427-1501), founding members of the cloistered community of Augustinian nuns that has had charge of the shrine since the later 15th century. They were beatified together in 1769 by Pope Clement XIV.
The Chapel of the Epiphany
The Chapel of the Presentation
Looking back down on the chapel of the Assumption.
A tired pilgrim.
