A few miles north of Biellastands the most venerated hill shrine in Piedmont, the Santuario d’Oropa,founded by St. Eusebius in the 4th century, when he returned fromthe Holy Land, with the Black Madonna and Child, reputedly carved by St.Luke. The sanctuary consists of threevast quadrangles, a neo-baroque basilica and a remnant of the original frescoedchurch, sheltering one of the most exotic statues in Italian Christendom, jetblack and embellished with a towering gold crown, a starry halo and sumptuousjewels.
