Oropa is a splendid destination, famous site for its historic Marian Sanctuary dedicated to the famous Black Madonna called Virgin of Oropa in Piedmont concretely the Biella Prealps located 12.0 kilometers from Biella at an altitude of 1159.0 meters above sea level.
This place also includes a Sacred Mount of the same name on the slopes of Mount Mucrone with its homonymous lake and from where you can reach the famous Savoia Refuge on the summit of Monte Camino at 2,400 meters via a basket lift.
Considered one of the major places of pilgrimage in Europe for popular traditions that link this sacred site to the figure of St. Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli in the 4th century who would have gone with a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary sculpted by St. Luke to Jerusalem, deciding during a visit to the Holy Land to take it with him to Piedmont on his return and then place it in Oropa.
The Sanctuary was built in 1200 and in different periods illustrious architects who worked for the Kingdom of Savoy, namely Juvarra, Gallo, Beltramo, Guarini, Bonora, Galletto and Arduzzi with works that lasted between the mid-17th and 18th centuries.
They built a majestic monumental complex consisting of the Ancient Basilica, Basilica Nuova, Cloister and various sections with side buildings where about 300 rooms were created to receive visiting pilgrims.
Statistics on the level of accommodation in recent years show that there are about 800,000 pilgrims a year who reach this Piedmontese Sanctuary elevated to a Minor Basilica in 1957 by Pope Pius XII where about 100 processions are celebrated annually.
You can start to admire the magnificent Porta Regia, an 18th century masterpiece by the Sicilian architect Filippo Juvarra and the triumphal staircase called Scala Regia which opens majestically from the Piazzale Sacro towards the imposing Upper Basilica with an architectural development with monumental shapes in sharp contrast with the profile of the ancient Basilica that you can visit.
The Black Madonna is kept inside a magnificent chapel decorated in pine wood, a masterpiece of the 13th century by a very skilled sculptor from the Aosta Valley and surrounded by magnificent 14th century frescoes.
It is said that the statue of the Madonna has special characteristics, one of which is linked to the faces of the Virgin and the Child Christ who have never had traces of dust, another corresponding to the total absence of wear, wear or worm processing that could have affected it.
A third case is connected to the foot of the statue of the Madonna, touched daily by the faithful and sick people as a sign of devotion, a sculptural limb that would have maintained the same original shape without ever wearing out.
In addition it is also said that St. Eusebius, once he arrived in this magnificent amphitheater of the Biella Pre-Alps, had hidden the statue under an erratic boulder to hide it from hypothetical thefts by heretics.
You can continue the visit the Royal Pavilion of the House of Savoy with the Royal Apartment, a Library that contains over 15,000 ancient volumes concerning sacred texts and others concerning the territory of Biella and the Museum of Treasures which boasts a very rich collection of jewels and sacred furnishings of considerable value.
Continuation with the New Basilica which although consecrated in 1960, was designed in the late 19th century by the architect Ignazio Galletti, an imposing building of immense dimensions with a capacity of about 3000 people and a monumental dome that reaches a height of 80.0 meters
The complex also houses a meteorological-seismic observatory dating back to 1874 created by Francesco Denza of Naples, a Barnabite father who established the Regio Carlo Alberto observatory in Moncalieri in the province of Turin.
Still active with obvious modernizations, it is part of the network system of the Piedmont region and functioning as a meteorological station of Oropa.
Next to the Sanctuary there is the Sacred Mount of Oropa consisting of 19 chapels, twelve of which narrate the life and episodes of the Virgin Mary with numerous polychrome statues, some of which were sculpted in the seventeenth century and frescoes of the same period, while the remaining seven are linked to purely religious innervating Christian faith and devotion.
Time for your lunch suggested as first courses Piedmontese Agnolotti or Risotto in Cagnone, second courses to choose between Veal with Tuna Sauce with Mixed Salad or Ham Rolls in Sauce with Grilled Vegetables.
Oropa with its Sanctuary and the wonderful environment of the Pre-Alps of Piedmont are all togheter a fascinating image to immortalise in your memory in day of tourism you will remember with pleasure.
Link : https://www.santuariodioropa.it/en/
Where to Stay | Recommended Hotels in Biella
Hotel Astoria
Hotel Agora' Palace Hotel
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Thanks a lot to read and note.