Sacred Places

Alessandra Gavin-Müller

Monday, 12 december 2022

by Alessandra Gavin-Müller

Sacred places are places of the soul, of comfort in common rites, from birth to death, in mourning and in joy, places of community, of visions, when frescoes spoke to people who were often illiterate.

Here the desire to pray, confess, enjoy the sound of the organ or the resonance of the frescoes, welcomed by Blessed Angelo Porro, the Servants of Mary and Our Lady of Sorrows, with a heart pierced by the Seven Sorrows, found refuge. Beauty and wonder also provide comfort in the Cloister and Art Museum, which has always explored the Sacred and the Profane.

Church of St. John the Baptist, Mendrisio

San Bernardo Hermitage, Comano

San Bernardo is a hermitage that stands at the top of the forest and is seen as an elevation. We could genuinely be above the world's turmoil, which can be watched from a suitable distance. The vibration of a reflection in the fountain instils doubt, however, that the legend of nymphs appearing in the little waterfalls below might be true.

The way to a sacred place has its own significance. Here there is a walk through a dense forest, where light plays between sun and rain and leaves, then a cobblestone of votive chapels, and at the end what looks like an unassuming wall, then a baroque church, vibrant with light inside, comes into view. And one would say a fable by La Fontaine and an invitation to generosity.

Church of the Madonna d'Ongero, Carona (Lugano)

Augustinian Convent Monte Carasso

The charm of the convent is that you imagine the cells but you see the movement. Once the Augustinian nuns moved, now it’s the young people, the inhabitants. A place to be together. There seems to be an ebb and flow, a back-and-forth of hiding places and loopholes, ideal for play or rhythmic rituals. Then a moment hangs in the air, the sun shining on your face.

Sacred places are places of the soul, of comfort in common rites, from birth to death, in mourning and in joy, places of community, of visions, when frescoes spoke to people who were often illiterate. St Charles exudes a power that welcomes, today as yesterday, in two hundred or alone, the person into the community of mankind.

Church San Carlo of Negrentino

Majestic and resplendent, of devotion and beauty, one imagines the Sanctuary vibrant with life in all its spaces, with friars and pilgrims ascending the demanding Via Crucis carried by faith to Sacro Monte, where art and writings look out over the vastness of the world.

Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso, Orselina

Chapel of St Mary of the Angels Alpe Foppa, Tamaro

When you walk up to it, it is like a fortress, which then stretches out. One enters, protected from the winds and weather and the noise of the world. Then in the heart of the church, when the movement becomes circular, one is immersed in a modulation of light, guided by the surrounding nature. And we are connected again, organically.

This is the closest to the border, you can see it also from the train and you can cling to it if you are seeking hope. It is a church that welcomes everyone, protects them, and its beauty, wedged between a bank and the town hall, seems to powerfully express the sacredness of every human being, no matter where they come from.

Church of San Vitale, Chiasso

The way to a sacred place has its own significance.

Alessandra Gavin-Müller

Alessandra Gavin-Müller is a filmmaker. She studied Art History in Geneva and graduated from the London International Film School (LFS). Since 2005 she has been living back in Ticino, where she grew up.

www.alessandramuller.ch

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