Jerusalem in the Eyes of a Late Renaissance Architect: Galeazzo Alessi and the Design of the Temple of Salomon on the Sacro Monte of Varallo

Around 1565 the Late Renaissance architect Galeazzo Alessi designed an ambitious renovation plan for the Sacro Monte of Varallo Sesia, outlined in a 320-sheet manuscript book of drawings known as Libro dei Misteri (1565-72). When Galeazzo Alessi undertook the project, the Sacro Monte was one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Northern Italy. It was known as the ‘Jerusalem’ of Varallo, because it physically reproduced many monuments of the Holy Land and recreated in the middle of the Alps the spatial experience of visiting Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth. Many studies on the Sacro Monte suggest that Alessi set aside the idea of reproducing the sites of the Holy Land and designed a sort of ideal city, a garden of marvels and delights. Nevertheless, a deeper analysis of the Libro dei Misteri reveals a striking number of iconographical links to the Holy Land: as stated by architect himself in the pages of the book, “the buildings [are designed to] imitate the true ones in the city of Hierusalem”. Examining the case of the Temple of Salomon, the main architectural element designed in the Libro dei Misteri, I argue that Alessi merged Renaissance architectural ideals with many different literary and figurative sources, such as the Bible, pilgrims’ accounts, printed and painted images of the Holy Land. With the advice of the Franciscan friars in Milan, Alessi was able to interpret voices and images of his time and to create a sophisticated and modern Nova Hierusalem.