Andorno Micca

Located about six kilometres from Biella, Adorno Micca is the main town in the Cervo Valley. Nestling in a river plain at the foot of the Biella Alps, the village has a well-preserved historical centre with some fascinating buildings.

Once crossed by an ancient Roman road that led through the Aosta Valley to Gaul, Adorno has always been a thoroughfare and has the rich cultural fabric typical of liminal places and trading routes.

The parish church of St Laurence, with its windows and pinnacles decorated with enamelled terracotta, is one of the many examples of the vibrant artistic and cultural life of the village. Inside there are various works by the painter Bernardino Galliari, the founder of a family of artists who worked in many historic residences in Biella, the Royal Theatre in Turin and La Scala in Milan.

This was where, in 1898, Fr. Lorenzo Perosi composed most of his oratory The Resurrection of Christ.

This small village thus has a long and glorious artistic history, which is best experienced by taking a stroll through the streets of the old town and perhaps sipping a glass of ratafià, a liqueur made from black cherries, prepared according to an old local recipe.