Situated 66km northwest of Vercelli in northern Piedmont, Varallo guards the Sacro Monte di Varallo, the oldest of Italy's nine Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains), all a Unesco World Heritage site from 2003. The complex consists of an astounding 45 chapels, with 800 statues depicting the Passion of Christ set on a rocky buttress on the slopes of Monte Tre Croci.
A Franciscan friar created the site in 1491, hoping to reproduce an alpine simulacrum of Jerusalem for locals who could not make the pilgrimage to the real deal. The complex is anchored by a basilica dating from 1614, and the subsequent chapels follow the course of Christ's life told through frescoes and life-size terracotta statues. The scenes are sometimes macabre. The Monte is accessed via a winding walking path from Piazza Ferrari in town.
