250px, View of the chapels IX and XI. The Sacred Mount Calvary of Domodossola (also known as Sacro Monte Calvario) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

sanctuary on the Mattarella Hill, overlooking Domodossola (

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, northern Italy). It is one of the nine

Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy The (plural of , Italian for "Sacred Mountain") of Piedmont and Lombardy are a series of nine calvaries or groups of chapels and other architectural features created in northern Italy during the late sixteenth century and the seventeenth century ...

, included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. It was built in 1657 in response to the wishes of the

Capuchin friars The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

, Gioacchino da Cassano and Andrea da Rho. The

chapels A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

, dedicated to the Via Crucis, are positioned along a devotional route which starts on the outskirts of Domodossola and ends at the summit of Mount Mattarella. The

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

on the summit was consecrated in 1690 and in 1828 the philosopher priest, Antonio Rosmini, founded the Institute of Charity. Over the centuries the Sacred Mountain has undergone various modifications, rebuilding and restoration including, in 1957, the wooden

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

s in

3, 5, 6 and 7. It is a stop-over on the CoEur devotional path.

External links

Official website

Sacro Monte di Domodossola

Official web site for European Sacred Mounts
{{Authority control World Heritage Sites in Italy Domodossola Roman Catholic churches completed in 1657 Tourist attractions in Piedmont 1657 establishments in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Buildings and structures in Domodossola