Anywhere Italy
Biella, Piemonte
Coat of arms of Biella

Piemonte · Biella

Biella

A wool city in the Alpine foothills, where the medieval Piazzo sits above the modern Piano, connected by a funicular since 1885.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
1 h 21 min from Turin
By train
Station in the comune
Population
42,619

Known for

  • WOOL

    Center of Italian fine-wool weaving since the thirteenth century; Zegna, Cerruti, Loro Piana, Piacenza and Fila all founded in the Biellese.

  • SACRO MONTE DI OROPA

    Pilgrimage complex above the city, dedicated to the Black Madonna, inscribed in the UNESCO Sacri Monti site in 2003.

  • FUNICOLARE DEL PIAZZO

    Water-counterbalance funicular from 1885 that still carries riders the 60 meters between the lower Piano and the medieval Piazzo.

  • NOCCIOLA DEL PIEMONTE / NOCCIOLA PIEMONTE

    The commune lies inside the Nocciola del Piemonte / Nocciola Piemonte IGP production zone.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J8°
  • F11°
  • M12°
  • A16°
  • M20°
  • J25°
  • J27°
  • A27°
  • S22°
  • O17°
  • N11°
  • D8°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Stefano, 26 December

Why come

Biella sits at the foot of the Biellese Alps, in a basin where fast Alpine streams cut down from Mont Mars and the Oropa range. The statutes of 1245 already named the woolworkers' and weavers' guilds, and the city built itself around them: by the nineteenth century, vertical mills along the streams had turned Biella into the Manchester of Italy. The names still on the labels, Zegna, Cerruti, Loro Piana, Piacenza, Fila, were founded here.

The upper town, Biella Piazzo, sits above the modern Piano on a small hill, reached since 1885 by a water-counterbalance funicular that still runs the same 60-meter climb. The Romanesque Baptistery on Piazza Duomo is the city's oldest stone, ninth or tenth century, set next to the cathedral. Above the city, the Sacro Monte di Oropa belongs to the UNESCO Sacri Monti site, and Biella was named a UNESCO Creative City for Crafts and Folk Art in 2019.

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Biella in our articles

How to get there

From Turin (TRN), about 1 h 21 min by car.

Milan (BGY) is about 2 h 1 min away.

By car from the center of Brescia 2 h 23 min.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Turin, Milan or Genoa?

Coming by train into Torino Porta Susa? Biella is about 1 h 18 min away by road.

Every town within reach of Turin airport.

First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.

Biella, Piemonte
Biella, Piemonte

What to see

  • Biella Piazzo

    Medieval upper town on a small hill above the modern Piano, with arcaded palazzi and narrow stone streets, reached by funicular since 1885.

  • Funicolare del Piazzo

    Historic funicular opened in December 1885, covering a 60-meter altitude gradient in 177 meters between Via Curiel and Via Avogadro.

  • Battistero di Biella

    Romanesque baptistery on Piazza Duomo, ninth to tenth century, the oldest standing monument in the city.

  • Duomo di Biella

    Gothic cathedral dedicated to Santo Stefano, rebuilt in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries on the site of an earlier church.

  • Sacro Monte di Oropa

    Pilgrimage complex above the city in the Oropa basin, part of the UNESCO Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy site.

  • Museo del Territorio Biellese

    Civic museum in the former monastery of San Sebastiano, with archaeology, sacred art and a section on the Biellese wool district.

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Answer six questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

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We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Matteo RistoranteRistorante

    Two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100) for Matteo Ristorante, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • CaminettoRistorante

    Caminetto carries one Gambero Rosso fork (75/100).

  • Chez SophieRistorante

    Chez Sophie carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).

  • Il PatioRistorante

    One Michelin star, at Il Patio.

  • RegalloRistorante

    Regallo carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.

Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 42,619, down 3.7% since 2015
  • A local hubi
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest public hospital Ponderano, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
  • Full fibre reaches 73% of homes
  • Primary school in the comune
  • Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
  • Nearest airport Turin, 1 h 21 min drive
  • Regional capital Torino, 1 h 21 min drive

Could you live here?

Biella is a city.

  • A city of 42,619 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
  • A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.

The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.

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Common questions

What is Biella known for?
Biella is a wool city at 417 meters in the Alpine foothills, where the medieval Piazzo sits above the modern Piano, connected by a funicular since 1885.
Where is Biella?
Biella is a comune in the province of Biella, in Piemonte.
What is the nearest airport to Biella?
Turin (TRN), about 1 h 21 min by car.
Can you get to Biella without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Brescia to Biella?
About 2 h 23 min by car.
When is the best time to visit Biella?
Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Biella?
Yes. Bolle di Malto - Salone Italiano della Birra. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Biella?
Venaria Reale, Bra and Ivrea.
How many people live in Biella?
42,619 at the 2023 count.
Is Biella a good place to live?
Biella is a city of 42,619 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. The nearest public hospital is in Ponderano, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 73% of homes.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 417 m
  • Population: 42,619
  • Surface area: 46.69 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

Similar

Towns like Biella

What all six share with Biella: over 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune