go to Sacro Monte di Orta

Between real life and represented life

St Francis of Assisi (1181 / 82-1226) is one of the most popular saints in the Catholic tradition. He was born at the end of the 12th century into a family of rich merchants, but very young he chose to follow the message of the Gospel, abandoning wealth and serving the poor as a poor. Francis founded the order of Friars Minor (today also called "Franciscans") and matured his experience within the Catholic Church. Unlike many other religious movements germinated in Europe around the same time and that were considered "heretics" by the papacy.

 

The building of the Sacro Monte began 400 years after the birth of the Saint as a contemporary reinterpretation of the figure of Francis. His message was revolutionary, updated and adapted to the new needs of the Catholic Church in the years of the Counter-Reformation at the end of the 16th century.

 

This tour explores the figure of Francis and how it was reinterpreted over the centuries and represented in the chapels of the Sacro Monte of Orta.

 

60
100
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19 tappe

Dove ti trovi

mappa
griglia

Scopri subito le tappe del percorso

1

Start at the monumental arch
2

A monumental entrance

‘If you want to know who the author is, the author is love’
3

Go to Chapel 1

St. Francis’ birth
4

The birth in a stable

Francis like Jesus
5

Go to chapel 4

Francis attends Mass
6

'Do not possess gold or silver'

That day in the Porziuncola...
7

Go to chapel 7

Approval of the Rule of St. Francis
8

Francis in Rome

From experience to the rule
9

Go to chapel 8

Francis on a chariot of fire
10

The Chariot of Fire

A story happening again
11

Go to chapel 13

St. Francis is led naked through the streets of Assisi
12

The Middle Ages in perspective

A baroque carnival
13

Go to chapel 14

Francis before the Sultan of Egypt
14

Francis and the Crusades

Beyond the Counter-Reformation
15

Go to chapel 17

St. Francis’ death
16

'All naked, on the bare ground'

Francis’ death
17

Go to chapel 20

St. Francis’ canonization
18

The triumph of Canonization

Recognition of the Franciscan message
19

Francis among gold and purple

The spectacle of canonization