Page 232 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

230 І NOR THWEST IT AL Y

o Varallo
Vercelli. * 7,500. V @ n Corso
Roma 38 (0163 56 44 04). ( Tue.
∑ atlvalsesiavercelli.it
The small town and tourist
resort of Varallo lies halfway up
the attractive Sesia valley, and
boasts a remarkable church,
Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The late 15th-century church is
notable for its beautiful frescoed
wall depicting the Life of Christ
and trompe l’oeil architectural
elements; the paintings are the
work of Gaudenzio Ferrari
(1484–1546).
A long stairway behind the
The 17th-century Basilica dell’Assunta dominating Sacro Monte, Varallo church (and also a cableway)
climbs up to the extraordinary
y Venaria Reale 4th century by Sant’Eusebio, Sacro Monte, a religious
Bishop of Vercelli. It was inten- community built at an altitude
Piazza della Repubblica 4. Tel 011 499
23 33. V @ Open palace: 9am–5pm ded as a hospice for the poor, of about 610 m (2,000 ft). This
Tue–Sun (to 7pm Sat & Sun); garden: and to honour the “Black “Sacred Mount” was founded
9am–dusk. & ∑ lavenaria.it Madonna” which he had brought as a sanctuary of the New
back from the Holy Land. The Jerusalem in 1486 under the
This grandiose complex dates Madonna, said to be the work of patronage of the Archbishop of
from the mid-17th century, when St Luke himself, is the object of Milan, San Carlo Borromeo.
Charles Emanuel II of Savoy some of the most important The Basilica dell’Assunta,
decided to build a royal hunting pilgrimages in the region. with a 19th-century façade,
lodge on the site of the existing The statue of the Madonna is is set in a tranquil courtyard
town of Altessano Superiore. kept in the restored Basilica with palm trees and a fountain;
Venaria Reale incorporates the Antica (Old Church). Beyond it, the interior is a riot of ornate
Reggia di Diana, a formal palace at the top of the complex, is the Baroque architecture. Dotted
and garden built between 1660 imposing Neo-Classical Basilica around it are over 40 chapels
and 1671, as well as La Mandria, Superiore (Upper Church), representing the sacred sites of
the 30 sq km (12 sq miles) park which was begun in 1885 but Jerusalem, with statues and
surrounding it. completed only in 1960. painted figures positioned in
Venaria’s historical centre front of frescoed backdrops
was designed by Amedeo di painted by Gaudenzio Ferrari,
Castellamonte between 1667 i Domodossola Tanzio da Varallo and others.
and 1690; its focal point is the Verbania. * 19,000. V @
Piazza dell’Annunziata, with n Stazione entrance, Piazza
statues depicting the Angel Matte otti 24 (0324 24 82 65).
Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. ( Sat. ∑ prodomodossola.it
u Santuario At the centre of this pretty
mountain town of Roman
d’Oropa origin lies the Piazza
Mercato, or market square,
Via Santuario d’Oropa 480, Comune di
Biella. Tel 015 255 512 00. V Biella. @ framed by attractive arcades
from Biella. 7 Basilica Antica: Open and houses from the 15th
7:30am–7pm daily. Basilica Superiore: and 16th centuries. The
Open 8:30am–4:30pm (Jun–Sep: to Ossola valley, where the
6:30pm) daily. ∑ santuariodioropa.it town lies, sits in an Alpine
landscape of pasture and
Perched above the wool town of forest sliced by rivers and
Biella stands the tranquil church streams. Pretty villages north
and hospice complex of Oropa, of the town include Crodo,
comprising a series of three with its cold-water mineral
squares surrounded by pale spas, and Baceno, where the
buildings with stone-shingled 14th- to 16th-century church
roofs, cut into the hillside. The contains fine frescoes and Christ Condemned (16th century) in a chapel at
sanctuary was founded in the wood carvings. Varallo’s Sacro Monte
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p565–9 and pp584–90

230-231_EW_Italy.indd 230 4/4/17 5:34 PM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.3)
Date 13th June 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm