Varese

Varese lies in the foothills north of Milan, below the wooded heights of the Sacro Monte. A sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin stood on the mountain in the Middle Ages and drew pilgrims from Milan and the lands around Lake Lugano. The town itself possessed communal statutes by the fourteenth century.

In the seventeenth century a devotional route was built up the mountain, with chapels illustrating the mysteries of the Rosary. Thirteen of the fourteen chapels were completed by 1623. Their painted figures and frescoes gave pilgrims scenes for contemplation along their uphill ascent; decoration continued after interruption by the plague of 1630–32 and was finally completed in 1698. Cardinal Federico Borromeo took a close interest in the work and its religious imagery.