Valsesia

Valsesia, Piedmont

The trail we hiked in Piedmont was in an area called Valsesia. Named for the Sesia River, Valsesia is actually a small group of valleys at the foot of the Alps in the region’s remote northwest.

Valsesia is a place where tradition dies hard. Families here track their history not only in generations, but in centuries. In high villages people still speak Walser German, the language of 12th century migrants who swept into this region from the north. Elsewhere they speak Piedmontese, the area’s local dialect that dates from around the same time.

In this part of the country farmers walk their stock off the mountains before winter comes (cow bells ringing across the valleys as they go), and when the snow has melted away they walk them back up again.

Valsesia is described as the 'greenest valley in Italy'; apparently that's because it rains a lot!

Though fortunately not during our visit; this was our view over breakfast each morning

Varallo is one of main towns in Valsesia

Corso Umberto I

View of the Church of San Giacomo from the Antonini Bridge

And looking back the other way; we had a great pizza dinner on that little terrace overlooking the river

Varallo's Civic Theatre opened in August 1901 with a performance of Rossini’s 'Barber of Seville'

In 1971 Varallo was awarded the Italian Medal for Military Valor for the townspeople's resistance efforts against the German occupation during World War II

The highly-prized needle lace 'puncetto' is unique to Valsesia; puncetto is still made here using a technique unchanged since the 1600s

The area is also famous for its production of delicious cheeses

The very beautiful Church of Our Lady of Grace was completed in 1493

The church is best known for Gaudenzio Ferrari's magnificent fresco (1513); 21 scenes depicting the life of Christ

The monument to Gaudenzio Ferrari in Piazza Ferrari beside the church (both of which are in Via Gaudenzio Ferrari) 🙂

Europe's steepest funicular (and probably one of the shortest); opened in 1935, the 'funivia' ascends the 200m from its fabulous art deco base station in just 80 seconds

And here's the view from the top

The purpose of the funicular is to bring visitors up to Varallo's Sacred Mount; it's one of 9 Sacri Monti located throughout Piedmont and Lombardy

Built between the 15th and early 18th centuries, Sarci Monti were designed as pilgrimage sites for those unable to travel to the Holy Land

In 2003 all 9 were awarded UNESCO World Heritage status

The listing was as much for the sites' spiritual significance as for the integration of their architecture into the surrounding natural environment

Each Sacro Monte consists of groups of chapels

The Sacred Mount at Varallo is the largest; it comprises a basilica and 45 separate chapels

Founded in 1491, the site was designed as an evocation of Jerusalem

This small chapel beneath the basilica is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin

It contains hundreds of expressions of thanks from people who survived devastating events

Some dating back to the 1800's, the dedications tell stories of survival from floods, fires, shipwrecks, trainwrecks, earthquakes, car accidents and even the armed robbery of a coach

This is Chapel 43, the first chapel built on the site (in the niche on the left of the door is the skull of Bernardino Caimi, the Franciscan friar who founded this Sacro Monte)

Many of the chapels include painted statues depicting the life of Christ; if you look closely you'll notice that the hair on some of the statues is real (people donate their hair for this purpose - it did seem just a bit creepy)

And this is the wonderful Piccio family, amazing hosts and tour guides; perhaps they did too good a job, though - we're already planning our return visit to Valsesia