Time of the visit: Varallo the 22nd of nov.,Varese the 24th of nov.2024

Varallo

I stayed one night in Varallo and two in Varese so that I had plenty of time to discover both" little Jerusalems".

When I arrived in Varallo it was heavily snowing as it had been the entire night before. That's why the snow was almost a half meter deep. I had to buy rubber boots because my shoes were completely unsuitable for climbing up a snow-covered hill. The climb is fairly easy under normal circumstances, but strenuous with heavy snow. I walked up the footpath near the cable car station and after visiting the area I walked down the "Salita Pedonale" from the cable car station on the hill to the town of Varallo.

The sacro monte of Varallo consists of the basilica and 44 chapels (inserted into monumental complexes or" palace-mausoleums") as well as a restaurant(closed) and some other buildings. Almost 6000 characters are depicted; 800 in life size  polychrome clay and wood. The original idea was to represent a kind of representation of the life,death and passion of Jesus to the faithful christians who could not go to the holy land which was under moslem rule at that time.

Each chapel is numbered.....there are 44 numbers in total (the app has 46 numbers).

I for my part found chapel 39 and 27 very impressive. The entire hill is a kind of fantastic city populated by wood statues. I spent almost 2,5h on the hill .....it was freezing cold and snowing all the time. No other visitor was there apart from me. Pure magic. Almost a spiritual experience. Indiscribably beautiful! An absolutely bewitching and enchanting visit of one of the best whs I have ever seen with my proper eyes! 

I would not recomend to take the cable car up to the sacro monte as you deprive yourself of the magic of the place, which makes physical exertion almost mandatory in order to be able to properly appreciate that place.

Besides the cable car station is only open on weekends and national holidays and totally closed in low season.

I had downloaded the official sacre monte varallo app with explanations in different languages about every numbered chapel there.. I would have probably stayed one or two hours more on the hill but after 2,5 h there I was cold despite wearing thick clothing and it was starting to get dark.

Two days later it was sunny in the northern part of Italy and the snow in Varallo seemed to be ages ago.

Varese

I took the bus from Varese's city centre to the outskirts of the city where the sacro monte is located. I somehow missed the stop near the foot path(" Holy Road) up to the hill with its 14 chapels so that I got off on top of the hill. Horrified, I wanted to go down again, as places like that almost require a physical climb. However, the bus took a longer break. Much to my displeasure, I had to forego the climb on foot. It was sunday and very early in the morning. There were still few people there, but that would change within a very short time.

Unlike Varallo, there are several cafes and restaurants as well as hotels on the hill complex. I enjoyed the sun on the terrace of one of the cafes there and stayed for almost an hour enjoying the great view. The sacro monte of Varese is quite popular among local Italians as well as among Italian tourists from other cities.It even has a cable car station(open) where I took a ride down for very little money (ends in the middle of nowhere),and immediately up again .

I then discoverd evey inch of the hill complex where still families live. After that I walked down the Holy Road and visited every single chapel. Some had buttons that activated music or explanations in Italian.
The chapels were beautiful and the Sacro Monte of Varese is absolutely worth visiting. I really enjoyed my visit there, but if you are looking for an almost spiritual experience you should visit the city of statues in Varallo.
If you don't have the time to visit both Varese and Varallo, I recommend Varallo. The blueprint for all sacri monti. A true miracle,Europe's mini Jerusalem!