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Sacro Monte Sanctuary of Oropa

The Sanctuary of Oropa is a Marian Sanctuary - dedicated to the Black Madonna - located a dozen kilometers north of the city of Biella in a natural amphitheater of mountains that surround the underlying city and are part of the Biellese Alps.

The road from Biella goes inland towards the north, to reach the 1180 meters of Oropa, where the complex of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Oropa is divided into several levels. It is one of the oldest Marian shrines in the West, located in an area where there are more than 15.

The origins refer to a cave, where pagan and perhaps Celtic rites took place; it was chosen in 1369 by Sant’Eusebio, bishop of Vercelli and initiator of the Marian cult in these valleys, to erect a chapel in which he placed the wooden statue of the "Black Madonna".

Famous architects such as Juvarra, Arduzzi, Galleani and Giò Ponti participated in the construction of the imposing Baroque complex. Twelve seventeenth-century chapels dot the Sacro Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

To stay next to the diocesan priests, there are three hundred rooms, furnished in style with period furniture, wrought iron beds and old paintings.

For nature and sport lovers there is a botanical garden of twenty thousand square meters, with the possibility of sporting outings, excursions and the proximity to the cable car of the Savoia refuge at 1900 meters and Monte Camino at 2400 meters.

In old postcards:

Map: Sacro Monte Sanctuary of Oropa