La via dei Santuari

FROM APRIL TO OCTOBER

The route uses the most beautiful roads in the Upper Biella area and crosses into Valsesia as far as Sacro Monte di Varallo. It’s varied and very panoramic in the final section and requires a good degree of athletic fitness. We take in 11 sanctuaries, including Oropa, the most important Marian sanctuary in the Alps. The halfway stop is at the medieval Ricetto di Candelo, a fortified structure considered “one of Italy’s most beautiful villages”.

1^st leg: Oasi Zegna Bielmonte - Candelo (115 km).

We start from the square in Bielmonte and go down the Panoramica Zegna road through the Conca dei rododendri (Rhododendron Bowl) towards Valle Sessera. On reaching Borgosesia we head for Varallo along the orographic right bank of the Sesia. After leaving the Sacro Monte di Varallo (UNESCO heritage, between Grignasco and Santuario di Boca) we take a very beautiful road through the Nebbiolo vineyards of northern Piemonte, where the Nebbiolo variety is called Spanna. After Gattinara, the straight roads crossing the paddy fields offer an enthralling panorama of Monte Rosa towering over the Biella alps. On reaching the town of Mottalciata there’s a short climb to the Baraggia di Candelo plateau, the “savanna of Biella”, the last tract of uncultivated land between the plains and the first buttresses of the alps. On leaving Baraggia there’s a long straight section to Candelo, where you can stop in one of the B&Bs and visit the Ricetto, one of the best preserved examples of this type of mediaeval fortified complex.

2^nd leg: Candelo - Oasi Zegna Bielmonte (80 km).

Setting out from Candelo we head for the Serra hill, pass through the town of Sala Biellese and take a very beautiful road, with very little traffic, through the birch woods typical of the moraine. After climbing to Andrate, where you can admire the glorious panorama across Valle d’Aosta and the Ivrea moraine amphitheater, you’ll join the Tracciolino, the magnificent panoramic road traversing the Biella Alps at mid height. On the way we’ll see the ancient Trappa monastery and the Graglia, Oropa (UNESCO heritage) and San Giovanni sanctuaries. From the Oropa Sanctuary we climb towards the Rosazza tunnel (1,488 m asl). Remember to bring lights: the tunnel is short but unlit. This brings us back into Valle Cervo and thence to Bielmonte. Before returning to Bielmonte it’s well worth visiting Rosazza, the “most mysterious village in Italy”.