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San Giovanni Battista church
easy
Distance 1.9 km
Duration0:33 h
Ascent14 m
Descent108 m
Highest point1,290 m
Lowest point1,182 m
The original San Giovanni Battista di Mogno church, in the upper Lavizzara Valley, was built in 1636 on a particularly energetic site. It was destroyed by an avalanche in 1986. The current modern church was built from 1992 to 1996 by Mario Botta, an architect and designer of international repute from Ticino.
A large embankment on the site behind the church acts as a buffer against the forces of nature and the building's cylindrical shape would offer minimal resistance in the event of an avalanche. The interplay between the shapes and contrasts is stunning and made of the Maggia valley’s dark gneiss stone, the clear and crystal Peccia marble, as well as the lacquered iron and transparent glass, which fills the church with natural light.
The altar and building are on the site of the old building and they have retained a strong energetic vibration, as the experts Blanche Merz and Elmar Good point out in their books on energy points. A number of subterranean waterways flow beneath the church, while from the valley behind where the fateful avalanche came from, there is a beneficial and positive energy flow for the church and its visitors. Other external geobiological phenomena and an internal energy increase the spiritual vibration of this small sacred portion of our earth. Mogno church is now known as a modern destination for pilgrims from all over the world.
Difficulty
T1easy
Overall difficulty
easy
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.
Fusio (1289 masl) is accessible by bus (315 or 334) or by car. This pleasant and easy hike starts with a visit to Fusio, from where you follow the signs to Mogno, the main sign which leads to the east of the region and remains, seen from downhill, on the left side of the valley. It takes just under half-an-hour to reach Mogno, a very distinctive area located at 1180 m. The modern church conceived by the architect Mario Botta is located on an ancient sacred site. If you leave your car at Fusio, you will have to take the bus or go back the way you came. From Fusio you can also go to the dam at Lake del Sambuco (ca. 20 min. one way), where the lake and mountains form a beautiful alpine vista.
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