The Frescoes of 14th and 15th Century

The Ancient Basilica, the spiritual heart of the Sanctuary, was erected in the 17th century, in the aftermath of the plague of 1599, to fulfill a vow made by the Municipality of Biella.  The Basilica, erected on the site of the ancient church of Santa Maria, holds the Eusebian Sacellum, a shrine which dates back to the 9th century. The cupola and the internal walls of the Sacellum display precious frescoes dating back to the 13th/ 14th century, the work of an unknown artist known as the Master of Oropa. The frescoes, centered on the life of the Virgin and on those saints that were object of particular veneration of the ancient hermitage, are a precious testimony of sacred iconography.

The chapel behind the sacellum displays the frescoes on panel coming from the Church of St. Paul of Burcina (in Biella Vandorno) and St. Bartholomew, coming from the priorate having the same name. The frescoes, dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, include the Nursing Madonna and Saints, the Madonna and Child and the Agony of St. Bartholomew