Sordevolo: Culture, Mountain Landscapes and Hiking

Mountain Landscapes and Trails

Sordevolo lies below the Monte Mars Reserve. Sordevolo also encompasses the southern slopes of Monte Mucrone. The landscape around Sordevolo combines forests, pastures and scattered mountain huts. A network of trails connects the mountain huts with one another.

Sordevolo lies along the Cammino di San Carlo. The Cammino di San Carlo branches off from the Via Francigena near Lago di Viverone.

A roughly two-hour hike starts at the Sordevolo amphitheatre, passes through the village to the old washhouses and follows an ancient mule track through the forest to San Grato before returning to Sordevolo. Along the Roggia Molinaria, a trail climbs towards forests and gorges shaped by the power of water.

Cultural Sites and History

Every five years, the entire village community stages the Passione di Sordevolo. The Passione di Sordevolo recreates a small section of Palestine, including the Upper Room, the Sanhedrin, Gethsemane, Herod’s palace, Pilate’s praetorium and Calvary.

The Museo della Passione is permanently housed in the choir and sacristy of the 17th-century Church of Santa Marta. The Church of Sant’Ambrogio preserves a polychrome marble altar from 1776 by Francesco Olgiati, dating from the 18th century, as well as other marble altars and wooden sculptures.

Villa Cernigliaro is a historic residence from the late 19th century commissioned by the Vercellone family. During the Fascist period, Villa Cernigliaro was a meeting place for opposition intellectuals and politicians, including Natalia Ginzburg, Norberto Bobbio, Cesare Pavese, Luigi Einaudi, Benedetto Croce, Luigi Pirandello and Eugenio Montale.

La Trappa is a former Trappist monastery complex. Between 1796 and 1802, La Trappa was home to a Trappist community that had fled revolutionary France. The complex houses the Ecomuseo della Tradizione Costruttiva.

The Vercellone Palace Wool Mills Archive documents the history of a family business that operated internationally from 1730 to 1899.

Festivals and Local Products

The Fiera Autunnale di Sordevolo takes place every year in October and coincides with the tradition of transhumance. More than 500 Pezzata Rossa d’Oropa cattle are exhibited at the Fiera Autunnale, where visitors can view them up close.

The Fiera Autunnale also includes a cheese and butter section featuring products made from the milk of Pezzata Rossa d’Oropa cattle.

The Mercatino degli Angeli has been documented since 2002 and takes place on six Sundays each year between November and December.

Slow Food Travel Montagne Biellesi connects food and landscape. The Associazione per l’Ecomuseo Valle Elvo e Serra is affiliated with Slow Food Travel Montagne Biellesi and is based at Via Bagneri 2, 13817 Sordevolo (BI).

More local pages: Graglia, Camandona, Caprile, Pollone, Bioglio, Netro, Campiglia Cervo, Solesio

To the higher-level travel overview: Province of Biella.