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Located at 3.937 ft. near the Sanctuary of Oropa, this botanical garden is part of a WWF Oasis, which also includes a natural beech forest, within the Special Natural Reserve of Sacro Monte di Oropa (a protected area of the Piedmont Region and part of the UNESCO heritage since 2003).

Recently included in the official list of high botanical interest areas in Piedmont, the garden was built in 1998. It covers an area of 2.6 acres with over 500 species, subspecies and different varieties of plants arranged within different habitats which facilitate any instructional activity.

The prevalent plant species are mainly indigenous, in particular, there are spontaneous species from Biella and the Oropa Basin. In addition, there is a collection of alpine ornamental plants from all over the world, cultivated on rocky patches.

Self-guided paths have been recently inserted (with free reference material), such as the “Path of Lichens”, the “Path of the Beech Forest” and the “Path of the Rocks of the garden”, which give the opportunity to discover some particular aspects of each natural environment.
Visitors will thus familiarize themselves with alpine biodiversity, admiring beautiful plant species such peonies (Peonia officinalis), Arnica montana, martagon lilies (Lilium martagon), Rosa rugosa, and many others.

This garden is committed to discovering and learning about sustainable development opportunities, providing a wide range of formal and informal education programs for everybody.

The collection of Himalayan poppies is of particular relevance; these flowers belong to the Meconopsis genus, which successfully thrives in this area of Piedmont.

Following a bold experiment, the collection of Hydrangeas is also very rich: very few specimens did not adapt themselves, the exotic Rhododendron auriculatum eventually bloomed for the first time in 2019, after ten years of treatment.
The vegetable garden is also very interesting, including mountain plants, domestic and wild food and the conservation of Dianthus superbus, the fragrant carnation usually found in wet meadows and the undergrowth. This very species, in fact, is included in the regional “red list” of Emilia Romagna and around Biella it can be found only in two places. The Dianthus superbus specimens of this garden come from a facility in Oropa and were reproduced from their seeds; the latter were also donated to the Vegetable Germplasm Bank of Piedmont.

Several didactic activities are offered to adults, children and schools.

Worth visiting nearby: the Sanctuary of Oropa is considered the most important Marian sanctuary in the Alps and it’s definitely worth a visit, after enjoying the botanical garden nearby.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)