For the faithful, the Santuario (Sanctuary) di Sant’Anna in Montrigone, which is fully inserted within the prealpine Sacri Monti system, is “il piccolo Sacro Monte” (“the small Sacra Monte” – Sacred Mount), a model of that great one bursting with the religiosity that characterizes Piemonte between the 16th and the 17th centuries. Traveling up the hill of the Santuario di Sant’Anna, we encounter 14 niches – or seasons – created in 1753 by the painter Lorenzo Peracino, originally from Valsesia. Even though the Sanctuary owes its fame to its six chapels dedicated to the episodes found in the Vita della Vergine (The Life of the Virgin), the 150 statues in polychrome terracotta created by the architect Giovanni d’Enrico – who also worked in Varallo – should be mentioned. In the chapel dedicated to the Annunciazione (Annunciation) and to the Visitazione (Visitation), one sees the artistic influence of Gaudenzio Ferrari.
