The Sanctuary of the Most Holy Crucifix stands halfway between Boca and Grignasco, a few kilometres from Borgomanero.
It stands among hills covered with vineyards and woods, on the site of an ancient chapel in which a crucifix with an angel collecting the blood from Christ’s side in a chalice was depicted.
The idea of building a church was conceived when the painting became miraculous in the 18th century, and it began to attract worshippers.
The construction was started on 16th August 1768 with the blessing of the foundation stone and lasted five years.
The temple, as it appears today, is nothing more than the transformation of the old church designed by architect Alessandro Antonelli.
Antonelli had designed a majestic sanctuary: a 119-metre-high (390 ft) bell tower (but was never realised due to the architect’s death), a 45-metre-long (147.5 ft) basilica with a 51-metre-high (167 ft) central nave and 2 aisles, 16 columns over 10 metres high (11 ft) in the entrance vestibule. Although the project was scaled down for economic reasons, it is still imposing.
