SOTTO IL MONTE - ENGLISH

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ROADS MAP  km 35

       

In the village, where Giovanni XXIII was borne, his house maintained the Spartan decor, it’s visited by pilgrims and tourists. A simple house, a picture of Madonna is again on the wall, in the wardrobe there are their clothes.

Along an aisle in the court yard some pictures on the wall show important facts of Pope’s life. At the end of it we arrive to the seminar where there’s a size statue of the Pope

We go out from the house, then we reach Santa Maria square. We can see the font where the Pope had been baptized and received the first Communion

Then we go up the hill and reach a small sanctuary (Cantine). Every year the Pope was used to go there to say mass, that location was full of memories for him.

The new parish Church was consecrated by the Pope, when he was still a Bishop, in 1926. It’s dedicated to S. Giovanni Battista. We reach it going up the S. Giovanni hill. Beside it there’s the chapel of peace. Inside we can see a size wood inlay that represents the Pope. Under the altar there’s a crypt where we can see some dioramas that represent Pope life and his parents tombs.

Out of the chapel, up to the left we can see the first house Roncalli family had built in XV century, when they came to Sotto al Monte. The Pope was used to come here for holiday.


   Paderno d'Adda bridge


 

The path isn’t really very long but we run along  an up and down street with also some slight slopes, for this reason it’is a bit difficult. But it’s worth for the beauty of verdant landscape and panorama seen from the Paderno bridge.