My humans and I have walked Sacro Monte di Varese in every season. We have done both the nature walk in the woods of Campo dei Fiori (from Piazzale Belvedere to Forte di Orino), and the Via Sacra ascent over cobblestones from the arches of Via Prima Cappella to the 14th cappella just before the village of Santa Maria del Monte, where the 15th and final “cappella” (church, really) is located.
I like the nature walk best because there are lots of animal smells in those woods — foxes and rabbits, deer and squirrels galore. My humans don’t let me off my leash, though, because there are also poisonous snakes along the trail. The Via Sacra doesn’t smell as good and those cobblestones aren’t as comfortable for my paws as the dirt of Campo dei Fiori. It doesn’t matter to me that the Via Sacra can be a religious pilgrimage or that it is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. I am all about the comfort of the path and the smells along the way.
Yet I really enjoyed a visit to Sacro Monte where we explored a place I had not visited before — the village of Santa Maria del Monte itself. We met a local resident in the parking lot of Piazzale Pogliaghi, where the bus route ends and the tiny town begins. Sig. Ottavio Lonati was born in this town and has lived here all his life. He knew every resident human we passed, and all about them and every building…
