Christ crowned with the Crown of Thorns

Abstract

This chapel represents the third sorrowful mystery of the rosary, in which Jesus is mocked and crowned with thorns. Construction was finished in 1623, and the sculptures were added a few years later, probably in 1625 or 1626. This date was inscribed on one of the chapel's ten terracotta figures, but the final two digits are not clearly legible. It is also possible that the sculptures were made in 1615 or 1616, although it would have been highly unusual to begin work on the figures before the structure of the chapel was complete. Another inscription inside the chapel reads: "Agostino Silva of Morbio Inferiore / son of the famed sculptor Francesco Silva, who / made [the sculptures in] ten chapels at this Sacro Monte, and whose / above-mentioned son restored [these figures] in May 1701." This is believed to have been the first restoration campaign at Varese and securely documents Francesco's authorship in the majority of its chapels. The frescoes in Chapel Eight were painted by Giovanni Battista (active 1600 - 1675) and Giovanni Paolo Recchi (1605 - 1685), two brothers from Como. They were followers of Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli (1573-1626), il Morazzone, who painted the frescoes in the previous chapel. The Recchi depicted three other scenes from Jesus' trial in the bays of the painted arcade behind the sculptures. They signed and dated the paintings in 1648. There are a number of wooden weapons in this scene, including two period halberds that were part of the chapel's original design. Only one other period weapon survives in the chapels at Varese, the halberd in Chapel Six. Streams of water often cross this portion of the devotional path in the spring, so Bernascone built Chapels Seven, Eight, and Nine atop raised platforms and added retaining walls to redirect the water around them. The elevated floor also establishes more emotional distance between the visitor and the figures and highlights the Sacri Monti's ties to religious theatre, since the sculptures are arranged and viewed like actors on a raised stage. Since they were built, large trees have grown along the path opposite the chapels. The trees obscure the views that the chapels were designed to have, block much of the sunlight, and contribute to the humidity that damages the art inside. / The Sacro Monte sopra Varese is built on Mount Olona, also called Mount Vellate, which is believed to be the site of Saint Ambrose's final victory over an army of Arian heretics in the year 389. A church dedicated to the Madonna del Monte was erected on the site in the 10th century and rebuilt by the duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, in the late 15th century. Two local women established an Augustinian convent there in 1474 and, little more than a century later, another of their number proposed that a Sacro Monte be built leading up to the sanctuary. There are fourteen chapels and three monumental arches illustrating the mysteries of the rosary, preceded by a church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The final mystery is represented by the cult statue on the high altar, which is attributed to Saint Luke. The chapels were designed by Giuseppe Bernascone, il Mancino (1565 - 1627), an architect from Varese who trained with Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527 - 1596), or Pellegrino de' Pellegrini, and constructed quickly between 1605 and 1699. They are significantly larger than the chapels at any other Sacro Monte.