The great sanctuary of the Black Madonna
In a green basin of the Biellese Alps, at about 1,200 metres, a few kilometres above Biella, the Sanctuary of Oropa is the most important Marian sanctuary in the Alps and one of the most visited in Italy. According to tradition, its origin dates back to the fourth century, when Saint Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, brought from Jerusalem a statue of the Virgin and hid it in these mountains; the statue venerated today, the Black Madonna of Oropa, in carved and painted wood, with a dark face and hands, is a work of the thirteenth century, and it is said that dust never settles on it.
Over the centuries, the small original chapel grew into an immense monumental complex, built mainly between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries with the contribution of great architects, including Filippo Juvarra, and with the support of the Savoy family. It consists of three large courtyards on different levels, connected by monumental staircases and surrounded by porticoes and buildings that housed the pilgrims. At the centre stands the Basilica Antica, of the seventeenth century, which houses the statue of the Madonna, and at the top the huge Basilica Superiore, with a dome 80 metres high, consecrated in 1960. Behind the sanctuary, the Sacro Monte di Oropa, part of the UNESCO site, has twelve chapels on the life of Mary. A cable car climbs to Monte Mucrone, with a small lake and a view over the plain.
Tip: the sanctuary offers simple accommodation for pilgrims and visitors; try the polenta concia, rich with local cheese, in the restaurants around it.
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