The best running trails around Domodossola

Saint Francis of Assisi, whose 800th anniversary of death we celebrate this year, describes our Christian life with the words of the Apostle Peter: he reminds us that we are called to »follow in the footsteps of Christ, who called his betrayer friend and voluntarily handed himself over to his crucifiers« (cf. NbR XXII, 2; cf. 1 Pt 2:21). The Poverello encourages us to fix our gaze on Jesus: »Let us all, brothers, pay attention to the Good Shepherd, who, to save his sheep, suffered the torment of the cross« (Erm VI). Therefore, on this Way of the Cross, let us accept Saint Francis' invitation to follow in Jesus' footsteps, not just ritually or intellectually, but with our whole being and our whole life: »Offer yourselves in body and carry his holy cross and follow his most holy commandments to the end« (Off XV 13). (from the introduction to the Way of the Cross meditation with the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, in the Roman Colosseum on April 3, 2026)

Sacred Mount Unesco heritage

from the top of Mount Calvario magnificent view of Domodossola and the valley floor

Embraced by the Ossola Alps and picturesque villages with ancient vineyards, the Sacro Monte di Domodossola winds from the village of the same name to the hill of Mattarella. Here, Roman and Lombard finds – including a marble plaque from 539, reused in the walls of the medieval castle destroyed in 1415 – tell of a thousand-year-old past. A UNESCO heritage site along with the other nine sacred mountains of Piedmont and Lombardy, the complex was built in 1657 by order of the Capuchin friars Gioacchino da Cassano and Andrea da Rho.

From a Celtic and Roman sanctuary to the Matarella fortress and a Capuchin monastery, this spiritual place tells an amazing story.

In 1656, two Capuchins chose the hill of Colle Mattarella, above Domodosso, to make it a place of pilgrimage. Twelve chapels were built, each with a statue or fresco depicting the Stations of the Cross, with an additional chapel depicting the Resurrection of Christ. At the top of Colle Mattarella stands the octagonal Sanctuary of the Holy Cross, the construction of which began in 1657. In the park of the Sacro Monte di Domodossola are the remains of the Mattarella Castle, destroyed in 1415 by Swiss soldiers who wanted to conquer the Ossola Valley and take it from the Duchy of Milan. In 1656, two Capuchins from the Domodossola monastery, Father Gioacchino from Cassano and Father Andrea from Rho, decided to have Stations of the Cross built on the slopes of Colle Mattarella, leading to a church dedicated to the Holy Cross. It was planned to gradually replace the crosses with chapels for the individual Stations of the Cross. Bishop Guido Maria Odescalchi commissioned the legal scholar Giovanni Matteo Capis to coordinate the project and named the hill Monte Calvario ("Calvary"), as the places of worship of the Sacri Monti ("holy mountains") were intended to symbolize the sites in the Holy Land that many pilgrims could not or could no longer reach. The construction work and the technical implementation were entrusted to the architect Tomaso Lazzaro from the Val d'Intelvi. The foundation stone for the pilgrimage site was laid on July 8, 1657, and in March 1662 the first Holy Mass was celebrated at the altar on which a crucifix by Dionigi Bussola had just been erected. A great benefactor and financier of the project was Kaspar Stockalper, a merchant, notary and governor from the Valais who was forced into exile in Domodossola, directly on Monte Calvario, where his figure embodies St. Gaspar, one of the Three Kings, in the 15th chapel of the Sacro Monte. The project to build the chapels was completed in the course of the 18th century; their furnishings have been constantly restored or renewed since then; the most recent statues, from 1957, are carved in wood. Source and further information: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacro_Monte_di_Domodossola

very nice, small Italian village

"Lord Jesus, eternal Word of the Father, you have become silence for us. And in the silence that leads us to your tomb, there is one more word that we want to say to you when we think back to the Way of the Cross that we walked with you: Thank you! Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the gentleness that overthrows arrogance. Thank you for the courage with which you took up the cross. Thank you for the peace that flows from your wounds. Thank you for giving your holy Mother to us as our mother too. Thank you for the love you showed in the face of betrayal. Thank you for turning tears into smiles. Thank you for loving everyone without excluding anyone. Thank you for the hope you pour in in the hour of trial. Thank you for the mercy that heals misery. Thank you for laying aside everything to enrich us. Thank you for transforming the cross into a tree of life. Thank you for the forgiveness you offered to your murderers. Thank you for conquering death. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the light you have ignited in our nights, for reconciling every separation and thus making us all brothers and sisters, children of the same Father in heaven." (Prayer for the Way of the Cross with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, Good Friday 2023)