ITINERARIES: THE BIELLA WOOL ROAD

The Wool Road is about 50 kilometers long and touches the valleys that are symbols of the Biella textile industry, from Biella to Borgosesia to arrive in some smaller towns in the Strona Valley and Valsessera such as Pettinengo, Camandona, Valle Mosso, Trivero, Pray. Along the way are the tall brick chimneys of the 19th-century wool mills, power plants, diversion canals, penstocks, workers’ villages, entrepreneurs’ villas, buildings for social use (nurseries, schools and hospitals, after-work centers for the workers’ free time) and “work paths” used by workers to reach the factories. Alongside the still active factories, along the entire route there are dozens of historical industrial sites including the Fabbrica della Ruota di Pray, now part of the Ecomuseo del Biella and home to a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of textile industry. The itinerary, designed by DocBi and the Polytechnic of Turin, also includes some alternative and integrative routes compared to the main one. Starting from Vallemosso you can, for example, reach some centers that boast ancient wool traditions such as Strona, Lessona, Vigliano and Cossato.