Recommended exit: A4, Santhià or Carisio

Biella lies at the foot of the Biellese Pre-Alps, at the confluence of the Cervo and Oropa streams. The town is divided into a lower part (Biella Piano) and an upper part (Biella Piazzo) that can be reached not only through characteristic alleys but also by a historic funicular. Biella Piano, on the hydrographic right bank of the Cervo stream, is the oldest part and is home to almost all monuments from the medieval period.
Biella Piazzo, founded by the bishop Uguccione Borromeo in the 12th century, also has some medieval monuments. The most characteristic place is Piazza Cisterna, surrounded by medieval buildings with porticoes and decorated windows and overlooked by Palazzo Cisterna (15th-16th century).

Around town
Baptistery – One of the most characteristic buildings of Lombard Romanesque art. It was erected in the second half of the 10th century on the remains of a Roman burial ground. The upper part is formed by an octagonal tiburium, also surrounded by blind niches and surmounted by a square lantern open on all four sides by double lancet windows and topped by a 12th-century iron cross found during restoration works in 1913.

Cathedral – The temple is dedicated to Saint Mary Major and Saint Stephen. It is Gothic in style with three naves divided by pillars on a cruciform base. With pointed arches, rib vaults and an octagonal cupola.

Saint Stephen’s Bell Tower – To the left of the Baptistery stood Saint Stephen’s Church, erected in the 5th century and demolished in 1872. All that remains today is the eight-storey Romanesque bell tower.

Church of the Most Holy Trinity – behind the cathedral stands the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, built in 1626.

Mountains of the Biellese Alps
Behind Biella, there are elevations that reach up to the 2,350 m of Monte Mucrone or the 2,500 m of Monte Bo; the mountain arc that encloses the territory of the province to the north-west is of important landscape and natural value.
In the north, the upper Sessera Valley has the largest expanse of natural and semi-natural areas in the entire province with great botanical and fauna variety. To the west, there are popular excursions in the Bo peaks, the Punta Tre Vescovi, the Colle della Vecchia and the peaks of the Mars, Camino, Mucrone and Mombarone mountains. The panorama south of the Mucrone is very different, where the upper Elvo valley is characterised by extensive pastures and a livestock economy.

Near Biella: the Ricetto di Candelo
The Ricetto di Candelo was built (13th-14th century) by the local farming community on a property owned by the noble Vialardi family of Villanova and then redeemed by the Candelesi people. It served to protect the land and its products such as grain and wine.

How to get to Biella
A4 exit at Santhià and follow SP 143 in the direction of Biella
A4 exit at Carisio and follow SP 230 in the direction of Biella

Recommended exit: A4, interconnection with A26 towards Gravellona Toce

Lake Maggiore is the second largest lake in Italy after Lake Garda. It is divided between Lombardy (province of Varese), Piedmont with the provinces of Novara and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and, in its northernmost part, Switzerland. It originates from the River Ticino, which spills into Swiss territory forming a wide delta and flows into Sesto Calende. Its elongated shape (66 km long), the U-shaped profile of its banks, its depth (about 175 m) and the moraine deposits testify to its glacial origin, which is also common in other pre-alpine lakes. The landscape, rich in history and art, is very varied: narrow in the southernmost part, it widens and becomes particularly rich in vegetation and architecture in the Borromeo Gulf, where we find sumptuous and splendid palaces. The Lombard shore of the lake is characterised by hills that gradually slope down to the bank, where sandy beaches and rocky walls alternate between rivers and streams.

Lake Maggiore has been a tourist destination for centuries. The villas built on the banks or islands were the summer residences of generations of noble families and thus became tourist attractions themselves. Thanks to the year-round mild climate and abundant rainfall, the lake has become famous for its nurseries: numerous botanical species first appeared in Italy here, with rhododendrons and azaleas spreading throughout the area. Villa Taranto and Isola Madre still have exceptional collections of these plants. The lakeside gardens were designed in Belle Époque style, in a harmonious blend of art and nature.

Val Grande National Park
The Val Grande National Park, close to Lake Maggiore, is the largest wilderness area in Italy. Val Grande was established as a national park back in 1991, when the importance of this area was recognised: 11,733 hectares of oak, beech and alder trees. The territory includes the Ossola, Val Vigezzo and Lake Maggiore valleys. It can only be visited on foot, due to the difficult accessibility of its paths.

How to get to Lake Maggiore
A4, at the A26 interchange follow towards Gravellona Toce and use any of the exits Castelletto Ticino (A8/A26), Arona, Gravellona Toce or Verbania.

Recommended exit: A4, Santhià or Carisio

The Sanctuary of Oropa stands at an altitude of 1,200 m in a beautiful natural setting, the valley that rises from Biella to the mountains towards the Aosta Valley, and is the most important shrine to the Virgin Mary in the Alps.

Prestigious architects such as Filippo Juvarra, Guarino Guarini and Pietro Beltramo contributed to the building, whose origins are traditionally traced back to Saint Eusebius of Vercelli (who is said to have brought the statue of the Black Madonna from Jerusalem there in the 4th century).

The building develops over three terraced squares, and is based on two large places of worship: the Basilica Antica (“Old Church”), built in the early 17th century, which houses the ancient sacellum with frescoes from the 14th century, and the Chiesa Nuova (“New Church”), consecrated in 1960 after two centuries of planning and work, which can accommodate up to 3,000 worshippers.
The structure is completed by monumental buildings, cloisters and the solemn staircase leading to the Porta Regia.

The atrium of the staircase is lined with plaques celebrating visits by illustrious personalities such as Guglielmo Marconi in 1894, who invented the wireless telegraph in Oropa.

Outside the Sanctuary walls, the grandiose Sacro Monte stands out, consisting of 19 chapels built from the 17th century onwards and populated by hundreds of original terracotta statues depicting different episodes in the life of the Virgin Mary. Built in 1871, the imposing cemetery stands out, full of remarkable mausoleums, including the pyramid-shaped one of statesman Quintino Sella.

The statue of the Brown Virgin is preserved in the Oropa Sacellum, and iconographically belongs to the type of the so-called Black Virgins. The face of the Virgin as well as that of the child is black, this unique iconographic aspect is found across Europe (France, Spain and Germany) over a period of time from the 12th century to the late 14th century.

In Oropa, the Black Madonna, contrary to the Black Virgins of the Romanesque period (depicted seated on a throne to symbolise Sedes Sapientiae, the Seat of Wisdom), is shown standing with the Child seated on her left arm, who is in turn giving a blessing with his right hand and holding a bird (symbol of the Passion) in his left hand.

From the 18th-century Porta Regia to the Royal Pavilion of the House of Savoy, from the library full of ancient volumes to the collection of sacred furnishings and jewellery, to the two galleries collecting thousands of ex-votos, Oropa offers a unique heritage of art and culture.

How to get to the Sanctuary of Oropa
A4 exit at Santhià and follow SP 143 towards Biella, after Biella SP 144 for 12 km
A4 exit at Carisio and follow SP 230 towards Biella, after Biella SP 144 for 12 km

For services and more tourist info: +39 015 25551200

Recommended exit: A4, interconnection with A26 towards Gravellona Toce

Lake Orta is located west of Lake Maggiore (and separated from it by the Mottarone mountain), in the province of Novara. It is also called Lake Cusio.
It has an area of 18.2 sq km; maximum depth 143 m; length 13.4 km; maximum width 2.5 km. The climate is mild, the shoreline and surroundings picturesque, rich in forests and crops, industrial and tourist activity.

In the central area of the eastern shore lies Orta San Giulio, a holiday resort whose square situated on a promontory and one of the ideal places to admire Lake Orta from. Opposite Orta San Giulio is the small island of San Giulio, with the basilica of the same name dating back to the 4th century, rebuilt in the 9th and 11th centuries. The basilica is dedicated to the saint associated with spreading Christianity in the area. Greek missionaries Julius and Julian came to these lands in the 4th century and taught the new religion there, after the persecutions finally ended.

Overlooking the lake, Villa Motta is also an exceptional vantage point. The villa is located on the tip of the Orta peninsula. It was built in the second half of the 19th century. It was bought in 1910 by Giacinto Motta, one of the founders of the Italian electrical industry, who expanded it several times to its current form. In 1943-45, during the partisan resistance, it was a refuge and transit point for refugees to the mountains and Switzerland.

From here, it is possible to climb up to Sacro Monte, which Nietzsche described as one of the “most evocative places in the world”: located in a beautiful park, among beech, linden and pine trees, at an altitude of 400 metres, it was designed in 1591 and dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. Arranged around the church of Saint Nicholas, twenty chapels contain no less than 376 terracotta statues illustrating the life of the saint. Also noteworthy are the frescoes by Morazzone, Della Rovere, Nuvolone, Legnanino and Cantalupi.

How to get to Lake Orta
A4, at the A26 interconnection follow towards Gravellona Toce and exit at Borgomanero.

Recommended exit: A4, Marcallo Mesero

The park stretches along the river of the same name, over two regions: Piedmont and Lombardy. Administratively, it consists of two entities: Piedmont’s Ticino Valley Natural Park and Lombardy’s Ticino Valley Park. Piedmont’s park is limited in extension and covers only the river belt without any urbanised areas, enhancing only the natural elements. Lombardy’s park, which runs from Lake Maggiore to the River Po, includes the entire territory of forty-seven municipalities. The decision was made to expand the latter in terms of protection and enhancement not only of the environment, but also the historical, archaeological, architectural and agricultural aspects in the area.

The River Ticino begins its course in the Swiss mountains and enters Lake Maggiore after flowing through a vast region of Swiss territory of the same name: the canton of Ticino. It comes out of Lake Maggiore, between Sesto Calende and Castelletto Ticino, where it begins its Italian course in a deep, narrow valley that then gradually widens as it descends south. After a journey of over one hundred kilometres that takes it through populated provinces such as Varese, Novara, Milan and Pavia, it flows into the Po at the Becca bridge.

In the Piedmont section, the park consists of a valley that is at first sunken and then gradually widens with gentler slopes, rich in woodland.
The woods, which occupy 60% of the park, show traces of the original lowland forest with a clear predominance of broad-leaved trees such as oak, hornbeam, elm and locust. The undergrowth is characterised by hazel, blackthorn and hawthorn. Of particular interest is the aquatic vegetation of the oxbow lakes with the presence of water lily, nanopher, cattail, etc.
Mammals present include squirrels, wild rabbits and hedgehogs. Hares also live in the park: a non-native species, they were introduced through repopulation for hunting purposes. Birds include mallards, grey herons, moorhens and pheasants; fish include trout, pike and chub.

In the Ticino Valley, meadows remain the most widespread agricultural crop, irrigated using water from the river. This is distributed through a dense network of ditches and canals that have been built by man over the centuries.

With their 3,500 hectares, forests are the main dominant feature of the Ticino landscape, occupying the terraces, banks and strips along the river, alternating in the flat valley with cultivated land.

The Ticino Valley, a biosphere reserve, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cycle paths
At the end of the 1980s, the Ticino Park, on the Piedmont side, began planning and building a bicycle route, which, once completed, would cross the park from north to south for a total length of over 60 km.

How to get to the Ticino Valley Natural Park
A4, exit at Marcallo Mesero

Recommended exit: A4, interconnection with A26 towards Gravellona Toce

Valsesia, considered by many to be the “greenest valley in Italy”, is the valley of the Monte Rosa massif. From Varallo to Alagna, a long series of tree-lined strips and slopes lead to Monte Rosa, the second highest mountain in Europe after Mont Blanc. The Monte Rosa massif majestically dominates the entire valley, closing it off to the north. From its glaciers springs the crystal-clear River Sesia, which together with its tributaries is known worldwide by water sports enthusiasts. There are over a hundred kilometres of water that can be descended, with varying degrees of difficulty. There are numerous canoe schools, where it is also possible to learn kayaking and hydrospeeding or go down the river in inflatable rafts.
Valsesia is the ideal place for open-air sports: walks on hiking trails of all levels, mountaineering explorations along the Monte Rosa Massif to the highest refuge in Europe, the Margherita Hut (4559 m). There is also climbing and paragliding, fishing and, of course, skiing: the off-piste areas of the Upper Valley are famous throughout Europe.

Nature and parks
The Alta Valsesia Natural Park, established in 1979 and extended in 1985, includes territories in the municipalities of Alagna, Rima, Rimasco, Carcoforo, Fobello and Rimella and is considered the highest park in Europe, with some peaks exceeding 4,000 metres. Ibexes, chamois, marmots and golden eagles can be observed in the park, while the flora is represented by all typical Alpine species.

Monte Fenera Natural Park
The Monte Fenera Natural Park was established in 1987 and covers an area of 3365 hectares, just south of Borgosesia. Monte Fenera – which dominates the entrance to Valsesia and Valsessera – is famous for its caves, where prehistoric human settlements have been found. The finds from these settlements are preserved in the Museum of Archaeology and Palaeontology of Borgosesia.

The Walser people
About eight centuries ago, a small community of Germanic origin from the Upper Valais settled peacefully at the foot of Monte Rosa, mainly engaged in agriculture and sheep farming. These are the Walser, who today reside – in numbers of a few thousand – mainly in the villages of Gressoney, Alagna, Rimella and Macugnaga. Although integrated into the local and national context, the Walser who remained in the Upper Valley tried to maintain language (an ancient German dialect), customs and traditions as much as possible over time. They are a minority who are increasingly shrinking in number and who in a short time risk being completely absorbed by the now multi-ethnic national fabric. What strikes visitors most is the style and layout of the old houses in this community. These stone and wooden buildings have largely withstood the wear and tear of time, retaining a very special charm.

How to get to Val Sesia
A4, at the A26 interchange follow towards Gravellona Toce until the Romagnano Sesia-Ghemme exit. Continue along the SP 299 towards Alagna. This road crosses the entire valley from south to north.

Recommended exit: A4, Greggio

Probably of Celtic origin, it was a Roman city from the 1st century BC under the name of Vercellae, then an important municipality. It later became a Lombard duchy, and then a Frankish county under the jurisdiction of the bishop. In the Middle Ages, Vercelli experienced a period of decline due to constant looting. It recovered, however, in the communal age by extending its dominion. It became a free commune in the 12th century by joining the Lombard League. The 13th century was the city’s most prosperous period, thanks to the creation of the region’s first university. It was later ravaged by internal struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines and in 1335 fell under the rule of the Visconti. Passed to the House of Savoy in 1427, from 1617 it was besieged and occupied several times by the Spanish and French, who destroyed its fortifications. In 1815, then with the Restoration and the events of the Risorgimento, it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.

Around town
The Basilica of Saint Andrew, begun in 1219 but completed over several later periods, features two splendid bell towers, three portals with sculpted lunettes, two long galleries, a rose window, and numerous works of art preserved inside.
The Cathedral of Saint Eusebius stands on the site of a medieval basilica.
The “Camillo Leone” museum houses exhibits of ancient Vercelli history: pre-Roman, Roman, medieval and modern.
Don’t miss Piazza Cavour, the Santa Chiara cultural centre, the Centori palace, the churches of Saint Paul, Saint Julian, Saint Christopher and, especially: Casa Tizzoni (15th century) with a façade decorated in terracotta, the “Francesco Borgogna” Civic Museum, which houses a splendid picture gallery, second in importance only to the Galleria Sabauda in Turin.

Rice
With more than three million quintals of rice that are cultivated, processed and transformed, Vercelli is the most important rice market in Europe.
The quality of the Vercelli rice fields is the result of several centuries of reclamation and careful, strictly natural selection.
The crop arrived in Vercelli in the 1400s and not only changed the economy of the area, but rice paddies also considerably altered the landscape. In spring, visitors cannot help but be fascinated by the immense expanses of water that reflect the villages of the lowlands. In summer, the landscape changes: the bright green of unripe rice is the dominant colour of the Vercelli countryside. In September, the colours change: the ripe ears of wheat form immense expanses of warm gold.

How to get to Vercelli
A4 exit at Greggio, continue on SP 594 towards Vercelli.

Recommended exit: A4, Santhià

Lake Viverone is located at the meeting point of three provinces (Biella, Turin and Vercelli). It is the largest basin within the Ivrea Morainic Amphitheatre, which in the last Quaternary glaciation formed the final section of the Balteo glacier.
The lake, located at an altitude of 230 m, has an elliptical shape with a surface area of 55.78 sq km and an average depth of 20 m. Its perimeter is just over 10 km and its volume of water about 30 million cubic metres. It has no external tributaries but the water comes from springs that flow from the lake bed and a single outlet on the west bank conveys its water to the Dora Baltea river.

Flora
Visitors can observe the characteristic vegetation that accompanies the gradual silting up of the lakes: the water chestnut, the water lily and the marsh reed. In the section along the banks of the municipalities of Azeglio and Piverone, there are wooded formations on marshy ground. The coastal strip of willows is followed by a forest, interspersed with stretches of reeds and sedges, of English oak and ash trees that are sometimes hundreds of years old. All together, it is an example of a marshy lowland forest, which once covered a large part of the Po Valley.

Fauna
Following the establishment of a wildlife oasis in 1970, the lake has once again become rich in interesting aquatic species. Every year, thousands of aquatic birds stop over its waters and nest on its banks. From autumn to spring, there is a concentration of birds like few other places in Italy. Among them, ducks are the largely dominant group, especially mallards. Other species in the winter period include the great crested grebe, coot and common gull. The neighbouring lake areas – unique in the whole of Piedmont – are also the nesting grounds of bird species that are now very rare in the region, such as the bittern; or of birds of prey such as the black kite. Cormorants can also be seen or, in spring, the “courtship dance” of the grebes can be witnessed.

Sports
Swimming and fishing are possible in the lake, as are sailing and windsurfing. There are countless camp sites in the vicinity.

How to get to the Lake
A4 exit at Santhià, continue on SP 143 towards Ivrea.