San Satiro tucked away on Via Torino near the Duomo.

I must tell you about this church in Milan. I'm fascinated by this! The Chiesa Santa Maria Presso di San Satiro, commonly known just as San Satiro, which is just south of the Duomo in Milan. Dating back to the 800s, the church was renovated in the second half of the 1400s by Bramante, and it has one very unusual feature. I read this about it:

San Satiro

by GB

Even for an architect such as Bramante, sometimes bureaucracy just gets in your way.

You’ve been commissioned by Milan’s Duke Sforza to rebuild the church of San Satiro. (Saint Satyrus was the brother and confessor of Saints Marcellina and Ambrose, the latter the patron Saint of Milan.) You’ve gotten the go-ahead from the religious authorities. It’s all systems go, funds in place….

… and then the town council construction board decides to ix-nay permission for the apse. The apse! Of all things, how absurd! How can you have a church without an apse!?

Carmine Superiore.

Carmine Superiore is off the beaten trail, but ironically, it's only by being literally on the beaten trail that you can find it. To reach this tiny, almost uninhabited medieval hamlet one must find the right dirt path from the main road near Cannobio and Cannero Riviera on Lago Maggiore. Then, climb steeply for 100 meters to reach the rocky outcrop and the remains of the village. When you arrive, stand in front of the 14th century church and gaze out over the lake and the surrounding mountains. If there are no boats in view it is extremely easy to imagine that what you're seeing is much the same as what the first inhabitants of Carmine Superiore saw, one thousand years ago.

I walked up this path on a warm August morning with an Italian teacher and a group of American seminary students from her language school. The winding path up now has metal handrails on some of the steeper spots and sharp turns. After the last twist, the first view of the village is an imposing and misleadingly rustic side of the church. Narrow paths, sometimes of natural rock, lead maze-like around the homes; it feels safe and comfortable up there, and yet, at the same time, somehow precarious.



We were there for a special treat. One of the very few current inhabitants of the village had kindly agreed to meet us and unlock the large wooden doors of the church, San Gottardo.

Its origins go back to the years right at the end of the first millennium, at a time when the land around Lago Maggiore first became permanently populated. And in the 1500s, when the Mazzarditi brothers, who lived in the Castles of Cannero, were tormenting the area, little Carmine Superiore was a refuge and a sanctuary to those in need.



The students and I wandered around the church, which was begun in the early 1300s and consecrated by Cardinal Carlo Borromeo in 1574. It was named for the Saxon bishop of Gottardo, who traveled through these parts on his journeys to and from Rome. Only one thing tells us we are in the 21st century, the spotlights that have been embedded in the floor of the church to highlight some of the frescoes on the walls. Mostly partial frescoes now, the 15th and 16th century paintings depict bible stories. They had been covered with lime during a plague in the 17th century, in an effort to sterilize the building after it had been used as a hospital. They were only uncovered again in the past twenty years.



The small terrace area outside had been a cemetery, but now it holds a couple of long tables, and it is where we unwrapped our panini and opened a couple of bottles of Freisa d'Asi and had a small pranzo, lunch, before beginning our descent down the trail. There is no way to reach the village with a car. The church is used only on very special occasions. It was opened just five times last year for services. Again, spotlights apart, it is not difficult at all to imagine it is another time, another century. What a special opportunity to get a glimpse of a place much unchanged for hundreds of years.

Visit more churches: churches

Or take some more walks: walks

By car: from the A26 motorway, exit towards Verbania and continue along the lakeside SS34 towards Switzerland. The hamlet of Carmine Inferiore is shortly before Cannobio. Leave your car in the car park and take the path to the church (15 min.).By train: the nearest railway station is Verbania-Pallanza, 29 km from Cannobio. You can reach Carmine Inferiore by the frequent bus service, from the station and then from Intra. The bus makes a stop directly at the base of the path.

In this Easter season several local tour operators have organized day tours centered around the famous Sacri Monti in this area. Piemonte and Lombardy are rich in these 'sacred mountain' sites, which are valued by the religious for their sanctity, considered of great beauty by virtue of the skill with which they have been integrated into their surroundings, and because they house an incredible amount of important artistic material in the form of frescoes, wall paintings, and statuary. For all these reasons, in 2003 the nine Sacri Monti of Piemonte and Lombardy were inscribed jointly as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Several are located close enough to Stresa to create a day dedicated to discovering them. Here's a quick guide to some of the sites closest to Stresa:

The Sacro Monte di Orta San Giulio is a Roman Catholic complex dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. It is located on the hill called San Nicolao, overlooking the western shore of picturesque Lago Orta, about a 30-minute drive from Stresa. Construction began in 1583, with the original plan calling for 36 chapels; 20 were ultimately built. Construction ended in 1788. The chapels contain many artworks of very high caliber, having been commissioned by well-known painters and sculptors of the times. The architectural styles can be seen to change with the 200 years of building. The walk to the hill summit is steep, the path between the 20 chapels clearly marked, and the views, architecture, and art offer surprises at every turn.


Sacro Monte della SS Trinita' di Ghiffa is located in the small community of Ghiffa, about 30 minutes from Stresa, overlooking Lago Maggiore. This complex, dedicated to the mystery of the Trinity, was influenced by an earlier small oratory located here on Mount Cariago. The view of Lago Maggiore is sweeping, and the architecture displays a high level of design. Just as impressive is the landscaping, which clearly required much planning and research. Sadly, the founders and builders are unknown. The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary Crowned was the first constructed here, in 1647. The main themes represented here in the art work are the Counter Reformation, and later, the Passion of Christ.


Sacro Monte Calvario di Domodossola. This Sacro Monte is located on the Mattarella Hill, overlooking the charming town of Domodossola, which is located about 20 minutes north of Stresa, in the foothills of the Alps. This complex was begun in 1657, in response to the wishes of the Capuchin friars Gioacchino da Cassano and Andrea da Rho. The chapels are dedicated to the Via Crucis, the Stations of the Cross, and are positioned along a devotional route which begins on the edge of Domodossola and ends at the summit. The chapel on the summit was completed in 1690 and in 1828 the philosopher Antonio Rosmini founded the Institute of Charity here.


Can you imagine a day planned hiking these areas? What a great combination of serenity, exercise, history, nature, and spirituality. A car is necessary to travel easily between sites, but no site is more than about 30 minutes from another. What a nice idea for a warm spring day, to rent a car, pack up some panini and cheeses, put on your walking shoes, and discover some of the Sacri Monti of Piemonte.

Il Collegio Rosmini, on the hill behind the city of Stresa, as seen from Lago Maggiore.

Sanctuario di Re -- The Sanctuary in Re

Today I'm going to tell you a story I like, about a church I like, in a town I like, and the miracle that happened there. Re is one of the small Piemonte mountain towns that you can stop and see if you take the Lago Maggiore Express train ride through the Italian and Swiss Alps. In fact, Re is the most easterly town in the Valle Vigezzo, and the last town where you can stop in Italy, being as it is located only 7 kilometers from the Swiss border. The sanctuary in Re has risen, over the centuries, around and above an ancient image of the Madonna breast-feeding her infant. This painting was frescoed on the outside wall of the ancient original church by an unknown artist sometime the 13th century. At that time the present sanctuary did not exist of course. What there was on the site was a small church dedicated to San Maurizio. But since the miraculous event, which took place there in 1494, the painting has been called "Madonna del Sangue," Madonna of the Blood. This story is about her and the beautiful sanctuary that has grown around her.

It was on the evening of April 29 of that year that one young Giovanni Zucono was playing with others outside the church. The game they were playing was called piodella; it was a game similar to baseball in that a short stick of wood was used to hit an object; in this case, the object was a metal disc, such as a coin, and the goal was to hit it as close as possible to a target. The story goes that this particular time Giovanni lost, and as so often happens with boys, he also lost his temper, and he flung his coin in the face of the Madonna on the wall. From the moment of impact, at the point where it hit, an outpouring of blood came from the wall, and the outpouring did not stop or subside for the twenty days that followed.


Immediately an altar was built in front of the image. Then, between 1606 and 1628 a church larger and more grand was built around the altar, incorporating the image inside. In 1894, on the 400th anniversary of the miracle, it was decided to build an even grander edifice. Work began in 1922 on the present byzantine-renaissance structure. In 1958 Pope Pius XII awarded the sanctuary with the designation of Basilica Minore.

The fresco is protected inside the sanctuary today. And in a tabernacle behind the altar an ampule of dried blood is preserved. Many scientific tests have been done on it, and the results well documented. And indeed, the residual marks on the fresco have been shown to be blood.

The sanctuary at Re is surprisingly large, and stunningly beautiful. Inside, it is unexpectedly modern, with contemporary stained-glass clerestory windows that reflect colored beams of light down onto the neutrally colored walls and the bright bolts of blue fabric which drape dramatically from the center of the dome, cascading down to the floor.




Each year, to commemorate the miracle of the Madonna del Sangue, a pilgrimage takes place, with the devout walking from Domodossola to the church. You can see it with much less effort, by disembarking the Lago Maggiore Express in Re, or driving up to the Valle Vigezzo, and stopping to visit for awhile.

While waiting for the boat in Baveno I had enough time to wander up to Baveno's parish chiesa, its church, SS Gervasio and Protasio, which is only a couple of streets from the imbarcadero. Turn inland at via Monte Grappa and take a little walk up the long flight of stairs; it's well worth a look around. Although the buildings were built in different centuries, they blend together nicely.

This is the view from the top of the staircase.

Between the arches delicately colored frescoes depict the stations of the cross.

I was a little bit late, and a little bit lost. I was walking through a section of Verbania that I didn't know, looking for a place I had never been before. In addition, it was all uphill, and the day was hot.

Now, I have stumbled onto information about that old church. And how I regret that I didn't stay longer, look around, go inside. I was at Chiesa di San Remigio, a Romanic-style oratory built in the 11th and 12th centuries. Yes. One thousand years ago. The front porch with its arched ceiling is new by comparison; it was added in the 16th century.

Had I ventured inside this is what I would have found. A church built entirely of square stones, all neatly arranged, with two naves of different lengths. It is assumed this is due to the position of the church on the rocky promitory where it sits. Inside I would have found cross vaulting, decorated semi-capitals, and frescoes dating from various ages, beginning with the early medieval era. In the lower apse there are images of Christ blessing a figure kneeling before him. This dates from the mid-eleventh century. And in the higher apse, a series of paintings from the thirteenth century depicts activities carried out in different seasons of the year.

Sigh...

If I had walked in there, not even knowing the age of the building or the paintings, but if I had walked in and discovered this, I would have considered it the luckiest of accidents. And I can't show you what's inside. You, like me, will have to wait until I have the opportunity to find San Remigio again. And I must remember, take the extra minute, take the chance, open the door...