Our friend Mariangela sends us some pictures of this jewel set on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore.
This is the hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso, which someone could have already seen while sailing on the lake.
In addition to a spectacular external structure, the hermitage also contains valuable frescoes.
A place rich in history and artistic testimony.

A bit of history:
Tradition has it that a first chapel was built in 1170 by a merchant and usurer converted to monastic life.
The monastic complex was built between the 13th and the 14th centuries.
The monastery was briefly ruled by the Dominicans, to pass to the fratres of Sant'Ambrogio ad Nemus, from 1379 to 1643.
The Carmelites of Mantua settled in the monastery from 1670 to 1770, when the order was suppressed by Empress Maria Theresa.
Considered a national monument since 1914, on 4 June 1970 the complex passed from the Beneficio parrocchiale of Leggiuno to the Provincial Administration of Varese.

A note:
The hermitage can be reached either by climbing some eighty steps from the landing, or by descending from the forecourt above.
It can also be reached by lift, located near the upper car park.

For more info:
www.santacaterinadelsasso.com
wikipedia.: Eremo di Santa Caterina del Sasso

Thanks to our friend Mariengela for the permission of publishing his images