Domodossola, and the Way of the Cross.
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Domodossola is a lovely town with a population of around 19,000 people, at the centre of seven valleys in the top of Italy, in Piedmont. The town is in the foothills of the Alps, right up against the border with Switzerland. Travellers, and armies, crossing the Alps, would pass through here on the way to the Simplon Pass, and so Domodossola gradually grew in importance. This became more so when Napoleon had the road built across the Pass in 1805.
The next important event was the opening of the Simplon railway tunnel. The first bore was started in 1898 and opened on 10.5.1906, a second bore started in 1912 and was opened in 1921. These tunnels were the longest in the world until the Japanese built one longer in 1982. From the southern end of the tunnel there are several short tunnels and a spiral tunnel before the railway line enters Domodossola International station. This grand station was opened in 1906 and is built in a suitably elegant style and covers a large area, with many tracks for freight trains. It is in the centre of the town, next to the bus station and the small tourist office.
The town is worth exploring, but Domodossola is famous for a really remarkable Sacro Monte Calvario – a Way of the Cross. I arrived by train from Switzerland, and you immediately feel the difference in the stronger sunlight and warmer air. It is noticeable that the Swiss trains are clean and efficient, while every Italian train was covered in graffiti. Coming out of the station you walk straight ahead up a bustling shopping street, which forks to the left and you pass the substantial Town Hall In 1944 this was the seat of government when the region broke away from the Nazis and the Italian fascists and declared its freedom, which was cruelly suppressed by the Nazis in just a few months. This stand against fascism made Domodossola well known. In front of the Town Hall is a heroic statue, dedicated to Gian Giacomo Galletti, who was a great benefactor to the town.
Continuing, you turn into the market place. This is a very irregular shaped area, surrounded by ancient houses with balconies and arcades, including the very active theatre. This is traffic free, and resounds with the chatter of cheerful Italians having coffee and cakes at the many tables that crowd the square. There are several churches in the town, all of great historic interest and worth visiting. There are some old houses, with wooden balconies stretching out over the street, a museum to the railway tunnel, and some remains of the old medieval walls. Somehow you just start to relax in Domodossola, it is a friendly place, although I didn’t find anyone who spoke English.
Just a short walk from here is the Via Rosmini, named after a famous priest, who comes into the story later. Then you see the church Madonna Della Neve. This dark church was built in the 17th century on top of a 15th century church. The fresco of the Virgin and Child was part of the original church. The road continues to become the Via Mattarella, named after the fortress on the top of the hill, and after crossing a main road, becomes the Via Calvario.
The "Calvario" or Calvary, or Way of the Cross, is quite outstanding. Each station is the size of my house. They have a heavy wrought iron grille over the entrance, today reinforced with chicken wire, to prevent vandalism, but through this you can see the various scenes with larger than life statues and wonderfully painted frescos. The original idea came from Franciscan Friars Minor monks, who intended the Way to imitate Jerusalem and to become a place of pilgrimage. The Domodossola Way was pushed forward by two Capuchin monks, Gioachino Cassano and Andrea da Rho. At lent in 1656, the Bishop of Novarra approved the plan, and the entire Ossola community enthusiastically took it up, with donations of money and hours of labour. The Bishop granted dispensation to work on "no work" days, apart from some special feast days, and also granted 40 days indulgence to those who carried out the work.
A triumphal arch was constructed in the town at the start of the Way in 1658. This ornate arch encouraged you to take the path and was a fitting start to the Way. Unfortunately, in 1875 the Municipality demolished it "for better building aesthetics". Today there is no sign of where this arch once stood. The development of the stations proceeded in a piece meal way, over nearly 250 years!
The work started in 1656 with marking out the Way, with wooden crosses planted at the sites for the building of the stations. The Way would start at the edge of the town and wind its way upwards in a broad path to the old castle at the summit. The original plans included the building of a monastery for the Capuchins monks roughly half way up. Construction of this started in 1667 under architect Tommaso Lazzoro. It existed until 1810 when Napoleon, under his regime of suppressing the Church, kicked them out under the Cisalpino Republic. There was no religious presence on the mountain until 1828 when the remarkable Father Antonio Rosmini arrived. Meantime, the monastery was a barracks and the chapel a gunpowder store, which accidentally blew up in 1830.
In 1873 Alpine troops were garrisoned here, and in 1926 the building was named after General Chiossi who had a villa at the foot of the Calvario. After World War 2 it was used to house refugees and homeless people, before falling into disuse and decay. Today only odd walls remain.
It was in 1657 that construction started on the Church of the Holy Cross, and stations numbers 4, 9 and 2. Typical is Station no. 9, "Jesus falls for the third time". It was started in 1664 by the Confraternity of the Holy Sacrament of Domodossola and completed in 1666. The statues of 22 people and 2 horses by Rusnati of Milan were installed in 1798 and in 1710 Tarquinio Grassi of Romagnano painted the whole scene, statues, frescos and ceiling. At the beginning of the 18th century stations numbers 10, 15 and 1 were built. Station 10 was started in early 1700 and completed in various phases. It was in 1764 that a new stage of construction began, with stations numbers 11, 7, 6 and 8 being built. Once again, it took several years to complete them. In 1835 the Rosminian Fathers built station no. 5.
In 1900 station no. 1 was rebuilt after being accidentally destroyed in an explosion, and finally in 1907 station no. 3 was built.
The Church at the summit is the heart of the Calvario, and houses stations 12 and 13. The foundation stone was laid on 8.7.1657 and volunteers worked on the construction. In 1659 work had reached eaves level and on 5.9.1659 the Bishop allowed Mass to be said there. The dome was erected in 1672 and in 1686 the vestibule was completed. To one side of the main steps to the Church a steep stone staircase leads down to station 14, the tomb. This is in the basement of the Church.
It was decided that the story does not end in the tomb, and so a 15th station, the Resurrection, was added a little higher up. Work had actually begun on the foundations of this chapel in 1690. This had revealed the foundations of a Paleochristian church, believed to be the remains of the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Castle of Mattarella.
The original "Via Crucis" (Way of the Cross) was officially recognised and established by Pope Clemente X11 on 3.4.1731.
The 15th station is next to the ruins of the castle of Mattarella. This is a strategic position overlooking the town and the valley. The original fortifications developed into a fortress around the 6th century. In 1014 Emperor Henry of Saxony gave the fortress to Bishop Peitro 111 of Novara. In 1381 it became part of the Duchy of Milan. In 1415 the Swiss descended and demolished it. It then became a quarry for the construction of the Church and the monastery for the Capuchin Fathers.
When Napoleon arrived and the Cisalpino Republic was established, church property was sold, desecrated or made illegal, and the Calvario gradually fell into disrepair.
Father Antonio Rosmini (1797 – 1855) a major Italian philosopher, was encouraged by the wealthy Count Giovanni Mellerio (who was born in Domodossola) to come to Domodossola. He did, and on 20.2.1828 founded his "Instituto Della Carita", whose members were the Padri Rosminiani (Rosmini Fathers). This started a spiritual revival around the Calvario. In 1863 the Rosminians finally acquired the whole complex of the Calvario and the 17th century house, which still remains active today as a Noviciate. In 1985 in order to spread more widely the enormous spiritual legacy of Fr. Rosmini, the Rosminian Centre of Spirituality was founded and still operates from the building today. On 18.11.2007 Antonio Rosmini was beatified.
The mountain today is also a nature reserve. Their head office is in the "Stockalper" house, by the church.
It is quite a walk up the mountain. The path is as wide as a road and easy to walk. It is amazing to see the stations, so large, and each one totally different to the others. When you reach station no. 8 it is under a building, and as you climb up you find station no. 9 is actually on top of number 8! At this level there is the Stockalper house which incorporates a tourist office. At the summit there are good public toilets in the ruins of the castle, and fine views over the town and the surrounding mountains. While I was there, resting in the sunlight and watching the little lizards scurrying around and up the walls, the bells started ringing for noon. They were ringing out Ave Maria! It was beautiful – and as I leaned over the railings, there were more bells below, all ringing out Ave Maria! It was magical.
In 2003 UNESCO recognised the Calvario as worthy of inclusion in the World Heritage list…along with no less than 6 other Sacri Monti in Piedmont (the region here) plus 2 in neighbouring Lombardy.
Having recovered my breath and rested, I went down again to the town for lunch. On the Via Rosmini, back in the town, a restaurant caught my eye, the "Ristorante La Meridiana". It seemed to be full of local people, which is always a good sign, so I went in. The Patron, William Vicini is the second generation to own and run it, and it is excellent. He has a very large selection of wines and the menu of the day was filling, tasty, and for us, cheap! Very suitably refreshed I went out into the town centre to buy a few things – to find it all shut. Of course, this is Italy, the shops close from 12 to 3pm. The market place was totally deserted, apart from a few pigeons.
As well as the main railway line from Switzerland which continues to Milan, there is the SSIF / FART railway, a metre gauge line that sets off from underneath the main station. This line runs through the "Hundred Valleys" across to Locarno in Switzerland. It is very picturesque, twisting and turning from valley to chestnut tree covered valley, stopping at little charming stations and linking the small villages clinging on to the hillsides. Some new, rather unattractive and boxy looking trains have been introduced. Despite their looks, they are good, with large panoramic windows and air conditioning. A trip on this line is recommended, and could be easily done in a day, there and back to Domodossola, the journey takes 1 hour 52 minutes.
This area of Italy, tucked away in its valleys with a fresh mountain climate, is not well known. It deserves to be explored. There are skiing places higher up, walks, climbs, and many untouched, small towns and villages to discover, and all with the excellent cuisine and relaxed atmosphere.
Some information on Domodossola can be found here, but only in Italian.
