1565 is a turning point in the history of the Sacro Monte. The wealthy Milanese Giacomo d’Adda, married to the local noblewoman Francesca Scarognini, commissioned the famous architect Galeazzo Alessi to redesign the Sacro Monte.
Alessi imagined a majestic site, with elegant architecture as the most refined style of the time. An example is Porta Maggiore, which still welcomes visitors to the Sacro Monte.
Alessi planned more than 40 buildings and intended to tell the story of humanity, from the creation, to the life of Jesus, up to the end of time. This majestic plan was never realised in full with only a dozen buildings completed.