Oropa is a sanctuary on a scale that surprises everyone who comes up the valley from Biella for the first time. At almost twelve hundred metres, in a bowl of mountains, a vast complex of churches, courtyards, porticoes and pilgrim lodgings rises in terraces, built over several centuries around an ancient chapel that holds a Black Madonna, a wooden statue of the Virgin that legend attributes to St Luke. Above the main buildings, a Sacro Monte of chapels with life-size statues illustrates the life of Mary along a wooded path. It is one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy listed by UNESCO in 2003, and one of the most important Marian shrines in the Alps.
Biella, at the foot of the valley, is a town built on wool. For centuries, its mills processed fine wool into cloth, and today some of the most famous names in Italian textiles still have their factories here. A short ride east, the Panoramica Zegna, a scenic road created by the textile industrialist Ermenegildo Zegna in the 1930s, winds through forests and over ridges, with spectacular views of the plain and the Alps, and the Oasi Zegna park has trails and rhododendron gardens.
The climb to Oropa is famous among cyclists: it has been a summit finish in the Giro d'Italia, and Marco Pantani's attack here in 1999 is the stuff of legend. On a motorcycle, it is a pleasure, with a smooth surface, regular gradients and plenty of curves, though busy with pilgrims and tourists on weekends. From Oropa, a road continues over the mountain to the Cervo valley and the sanctuary of San Giovanni d'Andorno, narrow and steep, closed in winter.
Biella, ten kilometres away, has fuel, shops and restaurants, and the sanctuary has restaurants, a bar and pilgrim lodgings where you can stay overnight. Try polenta concia, polenta layered with melted local cheese and butter, or a plate of cured meats and cheese from the mountain pastures. The water from the sanctuary's fountains is cold and clear, perfect for filling a bottle before heading back down.