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Candelo (Biella)- Candelo
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Show to visit in the Biella area: |
 HISTORICAL NOTES
The first documents in which Candelo is mentioned date back to the end of the 10th century. In fact, a there is diploma dating back to 988 by which Emperor Otto III confirms to Manfredi from Susa the possession of certain lands, including "Canerium".
The origins of the site, however, would be much older, if the name, as it seems, derived from Ligurian-Celtic terms meaning "settlement on a hill near a stream".
In 1170 Ottone from Biandrate ceded Candelo (or rather a castle that no longer exists) to the Municipality of Vercelli. The domination of Vercelli was poorly tolerated, especially since 1384, the year in which Giovanni Fieschi becomes bishop of Vercelli. He proved to be particularly hard on the population of Biella. In 1374 (1377 according to some sources) Candelo succeeded in freeing itself from Vercelli passing under the Savoy and receiving among other things the privilege of being able to administer itself autonomously as a community, so becoming one of the first municipalities in Piedmont.
In 1450 the Duke Luovico di Savoia granted to Candelo the statutes already in force in Santhià and which regulated administrative, criminal and civil law. Various privileges were included, including the prohibition for foreigners to own real estate in Candelo (a ban which curiously would have remained in force until the first half of the nineteenth century) and the possibility of holding a weekly market on Saturdays, a custom that reached contemporary era.
In 1450 the Duke Louis of Savoy granted to Candelo the statutes already in force in Santhià and which regulated administrative, criminal and civil law. Various privileges were included, including the prohibition for foreigners to own real estate in Candelo (a ban which curiously would have remained in force until the first half of the nineteenth century) and the possibility of holding a weekly market on Saturdays, a custom that reached contemporary era.
In 1489 Candelo became a possession of Sebastiano Ferrero, Ludovico il Moro's finance minister. It then passed on to his family, the Ferrero-Fieschi, princes of Masserano.
In the middle of the sixteenth century Candelo was involved in the conflict between France and Spain for dominance in northern Italy, so much so that the ricetto was half-destroyed by the Spaniards to drive out the French troops that had taken refuge in it.
To compensate, in 1561 Duke Filiberto of Savoy granted Candelo the permission to hold a fair every year in October, a custom that would have continued until the 60s of the last century.
In 1577 Candelo was made a county.
Between 1644 and 1649, Candelo underwent new Spanish occupations which caused fires and destruction, including the burning of the municipal archives.
Napoleon wanted to have the new town hall built in the town straddling the stretch of ruined wall. He also ordered the demolition of the facing houses to create the current square.
With the return of the Savoy and the restoration, the old municipal statutes came back into force and the rule that prevented foreigners from owning real estate in Candelo, under penalty of confiscation in favor of the royal treasury, returned for a short time.
WHAT TO SEE
Despite being a town of 7,400 inhabitants, Candelo is rich in tourist attractions, so much so that one day could not enough to see everything.
- Ricetto (Larger picture): The Ricetto is undoubtedly the most famous attraction in Candelo and its historical importance transcends the local level. The term ricetto refers to a fortified part of a village, used as a refuge in case of war and as a location for protected warehouses in times of peace. In Piedmont there are numerous villages where an ancient ricetto is still recognizable, but that of Candelo is by far the best preserved.
The Candelo ricetto was built in the thirteenth century and has largely preserved its original structure. It covers an area of approx. 100x100m, it is completely surrounded by walls (except for the part that was destroyed and, as mentioned, replaced by the town hall) and inside it is occupied by a large number of houses of almost identical structure (with a few individual exceptions).
All parts of the ricetto, except for the most recent additions, are built with poor materials: river pebbles, roughly hewn stones, bricks. Nevertheless the various structures denote a certain stylistic refinement.
Currently the ricetto houses numerous shops, wine bars and restaurants.
Ricetto of Candelo in more detail
- Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (Fig. 2): It is the oldest of Candelo's churches and also the most particular.
Erected before the year 1000, it underwent many changes over the centuries. Its bell tower with a very pointed spire is visible from miles away along the road from Castellengo.
Over the centuries, the interior of the church has undergone numerous changes, so that the original Romanesque structure, still recognizable in the columns that support the internal arches and in some remaining fifteenth-century frescoes, is masked by neoclassical decorations on the internal surfaces and chapels from various eras.
Overall, the interior has a structure that confuses the visitor and makes the church appear larger than it is. This effect is due in particular to the chapel of Santa Marta and of the Most Holy Shroud, the second on the right, whose size is in fact comparable to that of the naves.
Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in more detail
- Saint Lawrence Church (Fig. 3): The Church of San Lorenzo was built between 1675 and 1696. The exterior is Baroque. In the interior, with a single hall, decorations of an already neoclassical style predominate. The church has six side chapels, three on each side, in Baroque style.
Of particular value is the rich retable in painted and gilded wood, originally part of the main altar of the previous church and currently placed on the back wall on a hanging base. The martyrdom of Saint Lawrence is represented within a large architectural structure, both by bas-reliefs and by paintings on the walls of the hall in bas-relief (note the ceiling with a coffered vault).
Church of San Lorenzo in more detail
- Saint Peter Church (in Fig. 5 the upper part of its bell tower): The Church of San Pietro has very ancient origins, being mentioned for the first time in a document of 1222. In 1300 it was erected as a parish.
Until 1679 the church was of modest size. In that year a heavy snowfall seriously damaged it and the subsequent works led to a significant expansion of the building. The choir vault was decorated in 1757 and the sacristy was also built in the same year. Towards 1833 the church was extended by a span on the entrance side and a new façade was built in neoclassical style, designed by Nicola Mosso and finished only in 1932.
Inside there are three naves with cross-vaulted ceilings decorated in Baroque style, although in reality the decoration was painted recently (1936-1937).
There are two chapels on each side, plus the two at the head of the two side aisles.
The part of the church that most strikes the visitor is certainly the presbytery, built in 1710 to a design by Stefano Negro and richly decorated in Baroque style.
Church of San Pietro in more detail
- Hall of the Frescoes: It is located inside the Le Rosminiane Cultural Center. The room houses a series of votive frescoes originally located on the facades of the houses of some optimates of Candelo, which have been moved to this environment to better preserve them. The frescoes are attributed to the Novara workshop of Daniele de Bosis, working in the Biella area between the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century. Made over a period of about thirty years, they depict some saints, in particular San Rocco, San Sebastiano and San Fabiano. The most recurring subject, however, is the Virgin Mary and this reflects the importance of the Marian cult during the period in which the frescoes were painted.
- Oratory of Saints Fabiano and Giacomo. The small church is also known more simply as the Church of San Giacomo. It is located in the center of the fraction San Giacomo, located south of the capital town. The current building was built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It has a single nave with a portico and a bell tower. It has two altars, of which the lateral one, dedicated to Our Lady of Grace and to Sant'Antonio from Padova, was erected in 1756.
- Baraggia: The term "baraggia" indicates a partially wooded environment that once extended over the marginal terraces of the Piedmontese plain from Biella to Ticino. The resulting landscape is somewhat reminiscent of a savannah, although the Alps in the background remind you at every moment of where you really are.
The baraggia of Candelo is part of the Baragge Nature Reserve, a nature reserve under regional management that extends to include municipalities in the provinces of Biella, Novara and Vercelli (Piedmont).
It is home to numerous species of plants and animals, ranging from invertebrates to birds and mammals.
An important part of the reserve is owned by the army, which uses it to carry out exercises there. On the one hand this causes continuous direct damage, but on the other hand it has guaranteed the protection of the area as a whole from invasive forms of anthropization.
The baraggia in more detail
Categories: Places of historical value of artistic value
Candelo (Biella) |
Candelo: Further pictures in the section Photography |