Cristoforo Prestinari (Claino, c. 1570 - Milan, 1623) was an Italian artist of the Baroque period who worked mainly in the field of sculpture, brother of the artist Marco Antonio Prestinari. Trained in the workshop that his father Michele kept open in Val d'Intelvi, he later reached Milan, where he became appreciated, so much so that the Fabbrica del Duomo assigned him important works. [1]
Prestinari's work is mainly concentrated within the Piedmont and Lombard circuit of the Sacri Monti, where numerous testimonies attributed to him are preserved: examples are the 26 statues that adorn chapel III of the Sacro Monte di Varese, or the statues depicting the archangel Gabriel and Maria present in the chapel of the annunciation, sculpted by the author on commission from the municipality of Orta and donated in 1610 to the Mount.
Prestinari was not chosen by chance by the Orta community; in fact, notable on the part of the artist had been his contribution to the creation of the statuary installation of numerous chapels at Sacro Monte di Orta from 1600 onward.
The scenic installations left at Sacro Monte di Orta by the Prestinari differ from those of his successor at the Monte factory, Dionigi Bussola, because unlike the latter's dynamic and vibrant works, those of Prestinari appear symmetrical and orderly. Chapel XII still preserves the "audition" made by the artist who, upon arriving at the Mount, made a group of statues to submit to the patron to demonstrate his skill.
Varese is a city and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km (34 mi) north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559.
Gaudenzio Ferrari was an Italian painter and sculptor of the Renaissance.
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.
Orta San Giulio is a town and comune (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Turin and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Novara. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli was an Italian painter and draughtsman who was active in Milan. He is mainly known for his altarpieces, but his outstanding achievements are large decorative frescoes for the Sacro Monte di Varese and the Sacro Monte di Varallo.
Dionigi or Dionisio Bussola (1615–1687) was an Italian sculptor active mainly in Milan and its environs during the Baroque era.
Giuseppe Rusnati was a Lombard sculptor of the Rococo period. Known for having trained with Ercole Ferrata and subsequently from 1673 to c. 1686 training a young Camillo Rusconi, prior to the latter's relocation himself to Ferrata's studio in Rome. Born near Como; he died in 1713. He worked for many years for the Duomo of Milan, where he worked along with Giuseppe Buono (1670–1709/21) and Carlo Simonetta.
Carlo Francesco Nuvolone was an Italian painter of religious subjects and portraits who was active mainly in Lombardy. He became the leading painter in Lombardy in the mid-17th century, producing works on canvas as well as frescoes. Because his style was perceived as close to that of Guido Reni he was nicknamed il Guido della Lombardia.
Leonardo Bistolfi was an Italian sculptor and an important exponent of Italian Symbolism.
The Sacred Mountain of Varallo is a Sacro Monte overlooking the town of Varallo Sesia in the province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is the oldest Sacro Monte, founded in 1491 by Franciscan friar Bernardino Caimi. It is built on a natural terrace on the rocky slopes of Monte Tre Croci, on the left bank of the Sesia river where it leaves Val Mastallone. It is 600 m above sea level, 150 m above the historic centre of Varallo.
The Sacro Monte di Crea is a Roman Catholic sanctuary in the comune of Serralunga di Crea, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is reached via a steeply ascending route which winds through a wooded natural park, whose flora was catalogued by the Casalese photographer and polymath Francesco Negri.
Antonio Busca (1625–1686) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Lombardy.
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.
Lodovico Pogliaghi was an Italian painter, sculptor and decorator.
The San Carlone or Sancarlone or the Colossus of San Carlo Borromeo is a massive copper statue by Giovanni Battista Crespi, erected between 1614 and 1698, near Arona, Italy. It represents Charles Borromeo, a Catholic saint and former archbishop of Milan. According to sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi "The statue of St. Charles Borromeo is the first known example of a statue of repousse copper, worked with the hammer inside and outside, and freely supported on iron beams". Today, the complex is maintained by Milan's Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
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 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.