I left the Riviera as a child to work in France as a tinsmith. I returned to Orta in 1592, when there was still very little on this hill, other than the promise to build some chapels in honor of the Most Holy Francis. It all started from the magnificent project by Abbot Amico Canobio, whom you will meet later. We, the people of Orta, wanted a Sacro Monte in Orta like that of Varallo, but more comfortable, orderly and devoted.
In 1592, with other tin and terracotta workers who emigrated and worked abroad, we started to build this chapel at our own expense. But luck was not on our side ... who is old enough to remember knows that the last years of the century were hard times, indeed very hard! But fortunately the notables of Orta helped us. In fact this chapel is called the Chapel of the Community!