Vacciago: Churches, Art and Trails

Explore Vacciago through its religious buildings, art and trails around the Monte Mesma Nature Reserve. If you are looking for a hotel in Vacciago, its architectural history, works of art and marked trails can each provide a different focus for planning your trip. It is also worth considering the dates in the town’s history: the date of a historical reference is not the same as the construction date of a present-day building.

Religious buildings and their history

The Santuario Madonna della Bocciola was built on the remains of a small 16th-century church erected to commemorate an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Construction of the present building began in 1754; it was completed between 1834 and 1843 in a distinctly Neoclassical style. This clearly distinguishes the dates of the earlier church and the present Santuario. The walls and vaults are decorated with 19th-century frescoes by Agostino Comerio.

The Santuario’s setting also shapes the visitor experience: in Vacciago di Ameno, it stands on a broad terrace overlooking the lake and the Orta peninsula. The Chiesa Parrocchiale di Sant’Antonio Abate, by contrast, lies outside Vacciago’s town centre, at a viewpoint overlooking Lake Orta. Casa Calderara offers a different architectural landmark: this Renaissance building of bourgeois architecture is in the centre of Vacciago.

Two dates must be distinguished for the Chiesa Parrocchiale di Sant’Antonio Abate. The oldest document mentioning the church dates from 1217; the present building dates from 1589. The earlier reference therefore does not date the construction, but points to the church’s long history in the historical record.

Works of art and collection

The Oratorio di San Giuseppe displays a series of paintings by Giorgio Bonola of Corconio. The paintings depict episodes from the life of Saint Joseph, forming a thematically connected sequence. At the Santuario, the focus is on frescoes on the walls and vaults; at the Oratorio, it is a series of paintings on a clearly defined religious theme.

The Fondazione Calderara collection comprises 327 paintings and sculptures. Of these, 56 works are by Antonio Calderara, while 271 are by various European, American, Japanese and Chinese artists. The total and its breakdown give you a concrete sense of the collection’s size and composition. Alongside the religious artworks, Vacciago’s cultural landscape also includes works from several artistic regions.

Trails around Monte Mesma

The Anello Celeste circular trail connects Ameno with its main districts and the Riserva Naturale Speciale del Monte Mesma, and continues to Vacciago. This places Vacciago along a route linking the districts with the protected area.

The forests around the Monte Mesma Nature Reserve have numerous marked trails for hiking, horse riding and mountain biking. These activities offer different ways to include the forest trails in your trip plans. So if you would like to combine cultural sites with outdoor activities, Vacciago offers both links to its architectural and artistic history and a route connection to the protected area.

Discover more destinations: Alzo, Casalino, Auzate, Gattico, Sizzano, Gozzano, Galliate, Varallo Pombia.

For the broader travel overview: Novara.