Domodossola's holy mountain rises immediately above the town, on the wooded Mattarella hill, and the walk or ride up gives you the whole Ossola valley at your feet. The Sacro Monte Calvario was begun in the seventeenth century as a devotional path of chapels depicting the Passion of Christ, each holding painted and sculpted scenes, leading up to a sanctuary church at the top. It is one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy inscribed together on the UNESCO list, and it has a particular link with Antonio Rosmini, the philosopher-priest who founded his religious institute here in the nineteenth century.
The hill was also a fortress long before it was holy ground. Remains of a medieval castle stand near the summit, which makes sense once you see the position: the hill controls the junction where the Simplon road comes down from Switzerland and the side valleys of Vigezzo, Antigorio and Bognanco open out. Domodossola has always been a crossroads, and its Saturday market, held for centuries, still draws people from both sides of the border.
For riders, the town is a superb base. The Simplon pass, at 2005 metres, is one of the great Alpine crossings, with a gorge section through Gondo on the Italian approach and broad, fast bends higher up toward the Swiss side; a Swiss vignette is only needed if you go on to the motorway. The Valle Vigezzo road east toward Locarno is twistier and more intimate, through larch woods and villages of stone-roofed houses, and the Valle Antigorio leads north to the waterfall of the Toce in Val Formazza.
Domodossola has fuel, mechanics and plenty of places to eat, and the old centre around Piazza Mercato, with its arcades and balconies, is lovely for an evening walk. Ossola cooking leans to mountain food: cured meats, cheeses from the high pastures, and rye bread. The chapel path is steep but short, and in early morning or late afternoon the light across the valley is wonderful, with the snow peaks above the Simplon catching the last sun.