Nativity

Abstract

This chapel was built between 1605 and 1611 and represents the Nativity, the third joyful mystery of the rosary. Part of the mountain had to be carved away to create enough space for the foundation, which has made the air behind the chapel damp and caused cyclical damage to the frescoes. The sculptures have fared considerably better over time. They are slightly larger than life-sized and were made by Cristoforo Prestinari (1573 - 1623). Prestinari also modeled the group of angels that plays instruments above the stable. All the sculptures are made of terracotta and are hollow, except for the infant Christ, which is solid clay. The remains of the original wooden manger still survive under the baby but were eventually augmented with the brick structure visible today. Francesco Silva (1568 - 1641) added the final three figures to the group on the chapel's floor sometime before 1623. They are smaller than Prestinari's works and have more stylized facial features. The ceiling frescos were also painted sometime before 1623 by an unknown artist. Andrea Villa of Varese (dates unknown), perhaps alongside his brother Francesco (dates unknown), painted the architectural details and Carlo Francesco Nuvolone (c. 1608 - 1662) painted the figural scenes in the mid-seventeenth century. Beginning on the right-hand side of the central window the paintings depict: Joseph's first Dream, the Adoration of the Magi, the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Massacre of the Innocents, and the Flight into Egypt. The Adoration of the Magi is marked with a date, 1658, although the final digit is unclear and may be a four rather than an eight. Two frescoes on the outside of the chapel are also given to Nuvolone, who is sometimes called Carlo Francesco Panfilo, after his father Panfilo Nuvolone (c. 1578/81 - 1651), who was also a painter. Nuvolone's large mural of Flight into Egypt on the wall attached to the side of the chapel was frequently repainted and eventually replaced by a modern version by Renato Guttuso (1911 - 1987) in 1983. This structure is unique among the Sacri Monti's chapels. It may have been built to prevent snow and debris from sliding down the hill above and blocking the pilgrims' path. / 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.