While many head home for the summer to enjoy a well deserved vacation, Dean and Professor of Olivet College of Art & Design (OCAD) Dr. Joan Carter has chosen to spend the summertime for research-related travel. Recently, Dr. Carter shared with OCAD her upcoming plans to visit Varallo, Italy.

I will travel to Varallo, Italy in late summer to visit one of Italy’s famous pilgrimage sites.  Located near the Swiss border in a mountainous region now frequented by skiers from all over Europe, the plateau at the base of the mountain is the site of one of the most ambitious religious undertakings of all time.

Begun in the 1480’s by the Franciscan monk Bernardino Caimi, the “Sacro Monte of Varallo (The Sacred Mountain of Varallo) now consists of 43 separate chapels.  It was intended to replicate in Italy the pilgrimage walk found in the Holy Land.  In the 1480’s, the journey to Jerusalem was not only costly in terms of time and money, but very dangerous as well.  Many who attempted the journey did not survive. 

Each of the 42 chapels displays a scene from the life of Jesus created with life-size, beautifully crafted three dimensional figures, illusionist frescoes, and assorted props.  Originally, the pilgrim was free to physically enter the chapels and walk through the scenes as an effective participant in the action.

In 1563, a change in theological outlook resulted in the addition of grilles barring the pilgrim from entering the chapels.  No longer able to enter the scene and become one with it, the pilgrim was now restricted to viewing it from outside the event depicted.
Consequently, the pilgrimage site now functions in a very different way than was intended originally.

My research project will explore the shift in piety that occurs when the pilgrim no longer has access to the action in the scenes, and, consequently, becomes relegated to the status of an “on-looker.”

Dr. Carter will discuss the issues arising from her research with the school community following her visit.