A yoghurt, donut and bottle of pear juice were the sum of this morning’s breakfast – not great, and my early morning nourishment as I set off on day 14.
I walked back to the old village. It was packed with stands selling all sorts of art and second hand stuff. There were already quite a few customers, despite it not being 9am yet. I visited Chiesa di Villa, the local church.
Today is a day of climbs, ca. 150m early in the day, then another ca. 650 up Sacro Monte, to today’s destination, Santa Maria del Monte, perched 8800m above Varese.
After leaving the village, I managed the first climb without any problems, although I could feel in my legs that it was several days since I last climbed. At the top, I was met by a helicopter, several men and women and a couple of ambulances. A man who had cycled up the hill stopped and we chatted about whether it was a real accident or a test as the helicopter kept coming back after flying for a few minutes. He concluded it was a test, as the helicopter was red, if it was an accident the helicopter would have been yellow.
After a walk through a forested area, and into a residential area, I stopped for a coffee and pain au chocolat at a collective baker. After leaving the baker, it was downhill towards Varese along a road with a small shoulder. The road wasn’t super busy, but there were many cyclists testing themselves on the hill. I was almost hit by a cyclist, which made me realise that in some ways, the cyclists were more dangerous for walkers than the cars, as the cyclists, often cycle head down roughly following the cyclist in front of them. I wondered on several occasions whether they had seen me walking towards them on the edge of the road. Luckily no accidents.
The uphill climb started before Varese, after crossing a small river without a bridge, but enough stones to get across with dry shoes. I could see today’s destination in the distance. It seemed a long way away. On the way up towards Varese, a couple on a scooter drove up next to me and asked where I was going and how far I’d walked.
I walked through Varese, which seems to be a nice town, with a historic centre and a beautifully landscaped park with a waterfall. It seemed like a Swiss town in Italy – of course, I am only 25km from the Swiss border.
I didn’t stop, and the climb continued after leaving town along a busy road, mostly with pavements. The gradient increased as I started the climb towards the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte on Sacro Monte, passing some very nice houses on the way up.
The walk up to the village is along the cobbled Sacred Way of Sacro Monte di Varese, a 2km long devotional path with fourteen chapels each dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary.
Built between 1604 and 1698 it is a combination of art and faith with Baroque sculptures and frescos. It was a long steep climb, but offered spectacular views towards Switzerland and the Alps, as well as far a Milan and of course over Varese.
At the top awaits the village of Santa Maria del Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the dominating and spectacular Sanctuary, which made the climb more than worthwhile. The Sanctuary is closed during weekends, but open for services, and luckily there was a service when I arrived so I could go in and take a look.
A religious community has existed here since the 15th-century, but has been considered sacred since 389 when Saint Ambrose celebrated a victory here by holding a mass.
It was hard work carrying my pack up the Sacred Way, and I could have taken a funicular up the mountain and walked down tomorrow – but that’s too late now, and the funicular is only open during weekends at this time of year.
I had dinner at the hotel with great views over Varese as darkness fell. It was billed as a candlelight dinner, and I was the only single person there.
A 25km day with 800m elevation, tomorrow is another short day, made even shorter as there is a path down the mountain that saves 2-3 kilometers. According to the info at the start of the path, it is an easy path, although it must by pretty steep. We’ll see tomorrow.
