Information – The Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio is a devotional route always open to the public. The chapels, however, have opening hours that vary depending on the seasons. However, through the gates the internal sculptures and paintings are clearly visible. The easiest way to reach the Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio is to arrive on foot from Piazza Motta, the heart of Orta, passing through the Church of the Assunta and the San Quirico cemetery. By car or bicycle, after passing Villa Crespi, towards Orta, turn left following the signs for Sacro Monte.
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Geographical description– The Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio is a magical place where vegetation alternates with spectacular lake views. Located on the promontory overlooking the lake, the Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio offers a breathtaking panoramic view of Lake Orta. The route of the Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio winds through a wooded environment, among the twenty chapels inside which episodes from the life of Saint Francis are illustrated with groups of terracotta statues of great realism and paintings. The Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio is located at around 400 meters above sea level in a magnificent panoramic position over the town of Orta and the lake. Its slopes were once covered with terraces planted with vines and fruit trees alternating with meadows and chestnut woods. The summit was covered by the Selva di San Nicolao. Shrubs and boxwood and laurel hedges were arranged to guide the pilgrim along the religious route. The distribution of the trees created areas of shade and concentration alternating with spectacular views of the lake.
A bit of history- The Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio is part of the group of nine Alpine Sacred Mountains in Piedmont and Lombardy considered world heritage sites and is located in the municipality of Orta San Giulio in the province of Novara. The Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio It was built in three distinct periods, between 1590 and 1785. In 1583 the Ortese community decided to build a set of chapels and a convent on the hill that rises in the center of the Orta San Giulio peninsula intended to welcome, by will of San Carlo Borromeo, the Capuchin Franciscan friars.
Unlike the other Sacred Mountains, that of Orta is the only one entirely dedicated to a saint, the 20 chapels that compose it depict episodes of the life and miracles of Saint Francis of Assisi. Inside the chapels there are groups of life-size painted terracotta statues (overall there are 376) and numerous frescoes depicting episodes from the life of the saint which form the backdrop to the statue groups.
The 20 chapels of the Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio built between the 17th and 18th centuries offer evidence of the various subsequent architectural styles that followed one another. The last building built - the so-called New Chapel (which was supposed to host episodes capable of evoking the Canticle of the Creatures) - was designed in 1788, but was never completed. The devotional route which winds to visit the various chapels along a spiral itinerary, culminates with the church of San Nicolao, a Romanesque building completely renovated in the seventeenth century in imitation of the Lower Basilica of Assisi.
In 1980 the Piedmont Region, through its own law, established the Special Natural Reserve of the Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio in order to protect, conserve and enhance the historical-religious complex.
What to see- Unlike the other Sacred Mountains of Piedmont, the Sacro Monte of Orta San Giulio is the only one to be completely dedicated to the figure of a saint, his life and his works. The route opens with a large arch on which there is a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi. The heart of the monumental complex, also called the Assisi of the North, is the church dedicated to Saints Nicholas and Francis, totally renovated in the seventeenth century and recently restored to its former glory. You are struck by the large wooden sculpture depicting La Pietà and known as the Mother of the Redeemer. The statue, dated between the 10th and 11th centuries, is set in a precious baroque niche and surmounted by two crowns, created in 2006 by a group of Milanese goldsmiths.
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