Sacro Monte di Belmonte
Encyclopedia
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
of Valperga
Valperga
Valperga is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km north of Turin, in the Canavese historical region....
, near Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
(Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
). It is one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included in UNESCO World Heritage list.
It was built in 1712 at the initiative of the Friar Minor Michelangelo da Montiglio. After interruptions, building work on the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
was resumed in 1759 and in 1825.
The complex is located in Canavese
Canavese
thumb|250px|Church of Santa Croce at [[Sparone]].Canavese is a subalpine geographical and historical area of north-west Italy which lies today within the Province of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its castles.-Location:...
and is dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
; it comprises a church (Sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
) and several chapels. The chapels are built at set intervals: the details of their construction, the shapes and the embellishment used are often identical, which suggest that they are the work of a single architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who has remained anonymous.