The Sacro Monte di Crea (literally "Sacred Mountain of Crea", although it is built on a hill rather than a mountain) 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 let ...

sanctuary in the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

Serralunga di Crea Serralunga di Crea (Piedmontese: ''Seralonga 'd Crea'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. It is most famous for the Sa ...

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

, northern Italy. It is reached via a steeply ascending route which winds through a wooded natural park, whose flora was catalogued by the Casalese photographer and polymath Francesco Negri.

History

Construction began in 1589, around an existing sanctuary dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

whose creation is traditionally attributed to Saint

Eusebius of Vercelli Eusebius of Vercelli (c. March 2, 283 – August 1, 371) was a bishop from Sardinia and is counted a saint. Along with Athanasius, he affirmed the divinity of Jesus against Arianism. Biography Eusebius was born in Sardinia, in 283. After his fat ...

, around 350 AD. Eusebius is also said to have installed the statue of the Madonna which is still venerated in the sanctuary. The

chapel 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 ty ...

s dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary were positioned around the one-thousand-year-old Marian

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 sa ...

on the highest of the hills of

Basso Monferrato Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mon ...

. As time passed the initial scheme of the monumental layout was altered on a number of occasions and in 1820 significant restoration work began after its partial destruction.

The park

Since 1980, woods and a few agricultural land surrounding the Sacro Monte have been preserved as the ''Parco naturale del Sacro Monte di Crea'', whose area is where visitors can admire some plant species no longer widely found elsewhere.Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, ''Elenco ufficiale delle aree protette (EUAP)'' - ''5º Aggiornamento approvato con Delibera della Conferenza Stato Regioni del 24 luglio 2003''; published on the ''Supplemento ordinario n. 144'' of the

Gazzetta Ufficiale The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana'' (Italian, ) is the official journal of record of the Italian government. It is published by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome. Function The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale'' promulgate ...

n. 205 of September 4th 2003.

References

External links

Sacro Monte di Crea

Official website

Official web site for European Sacred Mounts

MonferratoArte: Crea
from a historical and bibliographical directory of artists active in the extra-urban Churches of the Diocese of Casale Monferrato. World Heritage Sites in Italy Buildings and structures in Piedmont Crea Churches in the province of Alessandria {{Italy-struct-stub