A truly special sanctuary!

Today I'm taking you to a really special place, a place I've been coming to since I was little, with my grandfather because every year around this time we came here to take a tour of the Oropa sanctuary and today in some way I want to talk to you about this place and help you discover it better.

The Oropa sanctuary is located in the Oropa hamlet in the municipality of Biella in Piedmont at around 1,200 metres above sea level in a sort of amphitheatre which we can define as having been created naturally by the beautiful Biella Alps.

This sanctuary is one of the most important Marian sanctuaries in the area and in the Alps dedicated to the Black Madonna, and therefore it is a very important religious complex for pilgrims who come from all over the world for their devotion and to ask for help.
The sanctuary was founded by Saint Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli in the 4th century, although some sources say that it was already an area of ​​devotion here. Probably because there had been some apparitions of the Madonna. The fact is that over the centuries this sanctuary continued to become larger and larger and important architects of the Savoy Court contributed to making it increasingly beautiful by expanding its structures.

There's not only the basilica to see, but there are also museums and the royal apartments of Savoy as well as a historical archive and a library. Naturally, inside a sanctuary, there are also galleries of votive offerings that tell a little about the miracles and devotions that have taken place over the centuries.

So every year I try to keep up this tradition that my family has been carrying on since I was little, which is to come for a walk here. My grandfather obviously came here out of devotion, I come here more than anything because I like the place, but it was also a tradition not to leave this place on an empty stomach. And so this time too I wanted to go and eat the delicious polenta that they prepare only in these parts.

I have to say it's a really good dish that fills your stomach but above all it warms you up when it's cold.
I hope my story was interesting and my photos too. See you next time with other interesting places.

GPS: 45.625807, 7.982173