CoEur is a Christian devotional and hiking route in Italy and Switzerland. [1] Its Italian subtitle, Nel cuore dei cammini d'Europa, translates as "In the heart of Europe's paths".
The path CoEUR was created in the late 1990s, when information about Saint Charles Borromeo's trips in the northern Piedmont was discovered, leading to the initiation of the Path of Saint Charles (Cammino di San Carlo) between Arona, the town where the Archbishop was born, and Viverone, the town where the Via Francigena passes through the province of Biella.
This track has been used as a starting point for the CoEUR path, which links all the devotional places along Lake Maggiore up to Locarno. In its ideal prosecution, the path reaches Einsiedeln Abbey connecting the Via Francigena with the Camino de Santiago in its Swiss section, named Via Jacobi. [2]
This combination of paths creates a connection between two sanctuaries consecrated to the black Madonna: Oropa and Einsiedeln.
This path follows routes made by Saint Charles Borromeo during his many pilgrimages through Lake Maggiore, Lake Orta, the Sesia valley, the Biellese territory and Canavese.
Twelve stages connect Arona with the Via Francigena in Viverone, passing by three Sacri Monti and many sanctuaries of the Verbano, Cusio and Biellese territories.
This route starts in Arona, runs along Lake Maggiore as far as Brissago, Locarno, and Bellinzona, and continues towards the Gotthard Pass, that connects the southern Swiss cantons (Valais and Ticino) with the central cantons of (Uri and Graubünden).
This path connects Domodossola and Baceno with the Swiss town Ernen along ancient mule tracks.
From Domodossola the way goes along the Toce river through the Antigorio valley, as far as the Arbola Pass, connecting Italy and Valais, and afterwards ends up in Ernen.
From Domodossola the way continues towards Verbania and the main path of CoEUR passing through Ornavasso, with its cycle paths.
This historic way starts in Domodossola and goes through the Valle Vigezzo and the Centovalli as far as Locarno. [3] The track uses trails and mule tracks of the ancient Via del Mercato, the way on which merchants from Italy and Switzerland transported goods. In the early 20th century the Centovalli railway was built in order to develop commerce and nowadays it is a major tourist attraction.
This path includes the Santuario della Madonna del Sangue in Re, a destination of many pilgrimages from the neighbourhood, halfway between the Ossola valley and Lake Maggiore.
In the Cannobio valley there is a network of paths connecting the numerous villages in the valley associated with Charles Borromeo's visits to the Pieve of Cannobio. [4]
The CoEUR path connects nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Two in Switzerland:
Seven in Italy:
Along the way there are many nature parks and natural reserves.
The river Ticino is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows.
Lake Maggiore or Verbano is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy and the Swiss canton of Ticino. Located halfway between Lake Orta and Lake Lugano, Lake Maggiore extends for about 64 kilometres between Locarno and Arona.
Arona is a town and comune on Lake Maggiore, in the province of Novara. Its main economic activity is tourism, especially from Milan, France and Germany.
The Sacri Montiof Piedmont and Lombardy are a series of nine calvaries or groups of chapels and other architectural features created in northern Italy during the late sixteenth century and the seventeenth century. They are dedicated to various aspects of the Christian faith and are considered of great beauty by virtue of the skill with which they have been integrated into the surrounding natural landscape of hills, forests and lakes. They also house important artistic materials in the form of wall paintings and statuary. In 2003, they were named as a World Heritage Site.
The aristocratic House of Borromeo were merchants in San Miniato around 1300 and became bankers in Milan after 1370. Vitaliano de' Vitaliani, who acquired the name of Borromeo from his uncle Giovanni, became the count of Arona in 1445. His descendants played important roles in the politics of the Duchy of Milan and as cardinals in the Catholic Reformation. In 1916, the head of the family was granted the title Prince of Angera by the King of Italy.
Intragna is a village and locality in the municipality of Centovalli in the district of Locarno of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
The Sacro Monte di Orta is a Roman Catholic devotional complex in the comune of Orta San Giulio on the summit of a hill known as San Nicolao, which faces the western shore of Lake Orta. It is one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included in UNESCO World Heritage list.
The Autostrada A26 is a motorway in the northwestern Italian regions of Liguria and Piedmont. It is named the Autostrada dei Trafori after the numerous tunnels through which it passes, both Apennine and Subalpine. It runs northwards from Genoa on the Ligurian coast, over the Apennines, and across the wide plain of the Po valley to the environs of Lake Maggiore and the mouth of the Val d’Ossola. In addition to this ‘main trunk’ of the road, there are three side branches, also of motorway class which function as link roads between the A26 and the A7, the A4 and the A8. The A26, together with these link roads, is managed by Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A.
The Domodossola–Milan railway line is a major Italian railway route and an important part of the European rail network. It is one of Italy's busiest lines for both passenger and freight trains. The line connects Milan and Domodossola with Brig, an important Swiss railway junction, via the Simplon Tunnel. Direct passenger trains ran from Brig to Paris and Brussels and Luxembourg via Basel. The line runs through lower Varese Province, the valley of Ossola and along the shore of Lake Maggiore.
The Sacro Monte di Varese is one of the nine sacri monti in the Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont which were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2003. It has an altitude of 807 metres above sea level.
The Domodossola–Locarno railway line, informally called the Centovallina in Switzerland and the Vigezzina in Italy, is a metre-gauge railway negotiating the dramatic mountainous terrain between Domodossola, Italy, and Locarno, Switzerland. It passes through the Vigezzo Valley and Centovalli.
The Sacred Mount Calvary of Domodossola is a Roman Catholic sanctuary on the Mattarella Hill, overlooking Domodossola. It is one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Camedo is a Swiss village near the border with Italy. Camedo is part of the Swiss municipality of Centovalli located in Canton Ticino. Camedo is one of the most important villages among the 19 localities of Centovalli. due to its strategic location just at the border with Italy being an official border post. It is specifically mentioned in international bilateral treaties among Italy and Switzerland.
The Sanctuary of Oropa is a group of Roman Catholic buildings and structures in Oropa, frazione of the municipality of Biella, Italy. It is located at a height of 1,159 metres in a small valley of the Alpi Biellesi.
The Path of Saint-Charles is an historical, artistic and devotional route which follows the travels of saint Charles Borromeo from Arona, his native town, and Viverone, where the path joins the Via Francigena.
The so-called Market way connects Locarno with Domodossola, through the Centovalli and the Val Vigezzo. The way uses ancient path and mule tracks used in the past centuries by merchants transporting goods from Italy and Switzerland. In the early 20th century the Centovalli railway was built in order to develop the commerce and is nowadays a main tourist attraction.
The Sacro Monte di Graglia is one of the numerous devotional places around the Italian Alps and it houses the Santuario di Nostra Signora di Loreto, one of the four major sanctuaries of the Biellese territory. Set in the Valle Elvo at 690 m on the sea level, the sanctuary is built near the Lauretana water industry.
The Sacro Monte del Santuario di San Giovanni Battista d'Andorno is the Sacro Monte built around a sanctuary in the Cervo Valley above the village of Campiglia Cervo, at an altitude of 1020 meters. It is the only sanctuary devoted to Saint John in Italy and probably in Europe.
The Sacro Monte di Arona, devoted to Charles Borromeo, is part of the Sacri Monti built in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is located in the territory of the town of Arona, province of Novara, region of Piedmont, Italy.
The Lagoni di Mercurago Nature Park, established in 1980, is a natural reserve in Piedmont, located in Mercurago, a hamlet near Arona, consisting of many lakes with swamp vegetation.