Johannine places (Sotto il Monte John XXIII)

One of the most famous centres of the Isola bergamasca is Sotto il Monte, birth place of John XXIII. This is a destination for thousands pilgrims that wish to visit the native place of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli.

The Torre di S. Giovanni welcomes tourists on the top of hte hill. In the town, a large number of buildins reminds of S. John XXIII.

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born on 25th November 1881 inside the building now called “Palazzo”, where the bedroom and the siters’ room are stil visible, so as forniture and the desk where Angelo Roncalli wrote the first pages of the “Giornale dell’Anima”.

Inside is possible to visit a multimedial project of 400 mq called PAPAJ23. This exhibition illustrates the life of the Good Pope through 4 different thematic rooms, with projections, videos and animations.

Next to his birth place, a gallery made of colourful glass windows leads to the PIME (Pontificio Istituto Missioni Estere). In the hall a sculpture protrays the Pope, while, in the upper floor of the seminary, there are the church and the rooms where ex-voto are preserved.

In front of the birth place and inside the Santa Maria di Brusicco church, the baptismal font where Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was baptized is now a place of pilgrimage. Since 2005 the original tombstone which covered the grave of the Pope in the Vatican Necropolis was moved here.

The “casa dei ricordi Ca’ Maitino”, was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli’s summer residence between 1925 and 1958, it preserve many documents and objects that were once belonged to the Pope.

At the upper floor, the living room, the study and the bedroom contains documents and objects of the Pope. Among these, there are the altar where he celebrated Mass in the Vatican and the bed where he died.

The complex of the Santuario Giovanni XXIII is composed by the parish church, the Chapel of Peace and the Garden of Peace. The Altar mayor was a gift from Pope John. Next to the parish church, the Chapel of Peace contains a marquetry made of 70.000 wooden pieces made by Andrea Gusmai di Trani, and portraying Pope John

The crypt is the most intimate and intense place of the whole journey, and the bronze molds of Pope’s face and hand have been showed here since his death.

The Giardino della Pace is a green lung that helps pilgrims to get in touch with the spirituality of Saint John XXIII.

In a hill country rises the ancient Abbazia di Sant’Egidio in Fontanella, an art treasure of Romanic origins, founded in 1080. The three apsis are oriented to the east; on the walls there are many windows characterised by geometric decorations. Some of the most ancient ruined frescos are still visible inside the presbytery, whereas other proofs of Renaissance origins are situated in the apsis and on the left aisle’s walls.

Recommended routes:
Percorso del Romanico
Percorso tra Chiese e Santuari