Sacro Monte di Orta

It is one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included in UNESCO World Heritage list.

The vegetation of the Sacred Mountain runs down to the shores of Lake Orta and was designed in line with ornamental criteria to match the architecture.

Construction of the complex, dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, began in 1583.

The project by the Capuchin friar Cleto da Castelletto Ticino involved 36 chapels, of which only 20 were built.

Until 1630 they were mostly in the Mannerist style, but from the mid-17th century, Baroque and other influences predominated.