The Sacred Mountain of Ghiffa is a Roman Catholic devotional complex in the comune of Ghiffa, Piedmont, overlooking the Lake Maggiore. It is one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included in UNESCO World Heritage list.
The dedication to the mystery of the Trinity was influenced by a pre-existing small oratory on Mount Cariago. The panoramic view over the Piedmont side of Lake Maggiore displays a high level of compositional architecture and landscape research. The monumental complex is not homogeneous but remains incomplete and the authors and founders are anonymous. The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary Crowned was the first to be constructed in 1647. The portico of Via Crucis, erected in the 17th century, underlines the shift from the themes of the Counter Reformation to that of the Passion of Christ.
References:The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.