The Sacro Monte di Crea (literally "Sacred Mountain of Crea", although it is built on a hill rather than a mountain) is a
Roman Catholic sanctuary in the ''
comune'' of
Serralunga di Crea,
Piedmont, northern Italy. It is reached via a steeply ascending route which winds through a wooded natural park, whose flora was catalogued by the
Casalese photographer and polymath
Francesco Negri Francesco Negri may refer to:
* Francesco Negri (Antitrinitarian) (1500–1563), Italian ex-Benedictine monk in Poland
* Francesco Negri (travel writer) (1623–1698), Italian priest traveller in Scandinavia
* Francesco Negri (photographer)
Franc ...
.
History
Construction began in 1589, around an existing sanctuary dedicated to the
Virgin Mary whose creation is traditionally attributed to Saint
Eusebius of Vercelli, around 350 AD. Eusebius is also said to have installed the statue of the Madonna which is still venerated in the sanctuary.
The
chapels dedicated to the Mysteries of the
Rosary
The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...
were positioned around the one-thousand-year-old Marian
sanctuary on the highest of the hills of
Basso Monferrato. As time passed the initial scheme of the monumental layout was altered on a number of occasions and in 1820 significant restoration work began after its partial destruction.
The park
Since 1980, woods and a few agricultural land surrounding the Sacro Monte have been preserved as the ''Parco naturale del Sacro Monte di Crea'', whose area is where visitors can admire some plant species no longer widely found elsewhere.
[Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, ''Elenco ufficiale delle aree protette (EUAP)'' - ''5º Aggiornamento approvato con Delibera della Conferenza Stato Regioni del 24 luglio 2003''; published on the ''Supplemento ordinario n. 144'' of the Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 205 of September 4th 2003.]
References
External links
Sacro Monte di CreaOfficial websiteOfficial web site for European Sacred MountsMonferratoArte: Crea from a historical and bibliographical directory of artists active in the extra-urban Churches of the Diocese of Casale Monferrato.
World Heritage Sites in Italy
Buildings and structures in Piedmont
Crea
Churches in the province of Alessandria
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