It was begun in 1614 under the auspices of the Bishop of Novara, Venerable Carlo
Bascapè, and was financed by the noble Pavian knight Agostino Baccaria and by
the contributions of pilgrims. Built little by little, to a plan by Bartolomeo
Ravelli and Giovanni d'Enrico (1614).
It was completed in 1649 with a façade on very simple lines.The present façade
arose during the years 1891-1896 as a result of the munificense of Costantino
Durio and his wife Giulia; it was designed by the architect Giovanni Ceruti
of Valduggia.
Portal
It is one of the things most greatly to be admired, as soon as we reach the threshold of the Basilica. The various panels giving it relief depict a number of episodies from the Holy It was designed by the architect Giovanni Ceruti. Leone Antonini of Vocca modelled it and Giovanni Lomazzi of Milan was responsible for the casting.Scriptures symbolically referring to the Madonna. In fact the Basilica is dedicated to Her.
Scurolo
The word means a dark place. It is reached from the Basilica by going down the convenient marble staircase. It is oval in shape, with a perystale of composite order. It receives a tenuous light from above through a skylight shaped like a cupola, below which there are small tribunes. It is the work of the architect Benedetto Alfieri (18th cen.) and Giovanni Morondi (18th cen.). The altar of Carrara marble is by Paolo Rivolta (17th cen.).