Built in 1914 as a shelter for those who worked in the surrounding vineyards, and never consecrated, the Chapel of SS. Madonna delle Grazie was purchased by the Ceretto family in 1970 along with 6 hectares of prestigious Brunate vineyards.

After many years of neglect, it has become one of the most famous buildings in the area thanks to its reinterpretation by the artists Sol LeWitt and David Tremlett in 1999, dividing the work equally: Tremlett’s interior decorations, warm and serene, LeWitt’s exterior work, playful and lively.

Twenty years after its restoration, this is how the history of the Cappella del Barolo, or Cappella delle Brunate, can be summed up: a “rainbow among the hills” that enchants with its colours and its almost magical aura - whether you discover it by chance during a bicycle ride or whether you go looking for it on purpose. A simple version of the facts, however, is not enough to recount such a mysterious place that has become legendary; and it is indeed a legend that Andrea Bajani relates in this book, a narration with many possible versions and protagonists, in order to rediscover the uncertain, and thus even more fascinating, history of the Chapel.

The commentaries made by David Tremlett, Roberta Ceretto and Sara Molho add personal points of view and historical details on the origins of the project and its implementation; the preparatory drawings by the two artists testify to the different phases, and the photographs portray the chapel in the Langhe, among the Piedmont hills, in the changing of the seasons. - Corraini Edizioni

Italian and English text