Sacro Monte di Crea

On a wooded hill above Serralunga di Crea, one of the nine UNESCO-listed Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy unfolds along a steep path of chapels, life-sized statue groups and frescoed scenes that retell the life of the Virgin. Around them sit a much older pilgrimage sanctuary, five hermitages and a protected reserve, all near Casale Monferrato.

Why it matters

Crea's devotional programme is given over entirely to the Assumption of the Virgin, and the hill holds a double distinction, sitting inside a regional nature reserve while belonging to the "Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy", the serial property UNESCO inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2003. Founded in 1589 by the Lateran prior Costantino Massino on the model of Varallo, it was built to let pilgrims walk, chapel by chapel, through the story of Mary's life. The result is a hybrid that is rare even among Italy's sacred mountains: Renaissance-Baroque scenography, a sanctuary that drew pilgrims as early as the eleventh century, and Monferrato hillside woodland woven through one another on a single ridge.

What to notice

The devotional route comprises 23 chapels and five hermitages. The sculptural group in the Cappella del Paradiso, chapel 23, was made between 1604 and 1612 and brings together work associated with the circles of Moncalvo, the Prestinari and the de Wespin family. Chapel 16 contains statues by Leonardo Bistolfi. The chapels frame views across the Monferrato hills toward Casale and the Po plain, integrating the devotional scenes with the wooded landscape.

Context and history

Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Madonna Assunta predates the chapel route, with devotion on the hill recorded from the eleventh century. Costantino Massino founded the Sacro Monte in 1589, and its first building phase continued to about 1657. French revolutionary troops damaged chapels, statues and frescoes between 1796 and 1801. Franciscan friars began restoration around 1820, followed by a systematic campaign from 1885 into the 1920s. UNESCO inscribed the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy in 2003, recognizing their integration of architecture and landscape.