Innamorati del Biellese

Il Biellese si presenta come una culla verde ornata da boschi e pascoli che si innalzano fino a sfiorare le cime delle Alpi comprese fra il Mombarone e il Monte Barone. Il territorio è vario: si passa dalle risaie, dalla pianura ricca di castelli, dalle colline vitivinicole sulle sponde del lago di Viverone, alla città di Biella, alle sue cinque valli che alternano ricordi di vita montana e operaia, fino ai monti più elevati dove nasce la vera ricchezza di questo territorio: l’acqua! Si, quell’acqua che, insieme alle mani esperte e all’intraprendenza degli industriali, le ha attribuito il prestigioso appellativo di «Città della Lana».

Ciò che ti proponiamo è tuffo completo nella nostra terra. Un tuffo lontano da tutto ciò che si può definire comune, monotono, noto. Ti chiediamo di portare con te solo una mente ricca di libertà e di farti trasportare in un viaggio nel tempo e nella natura più autentica.

Ti faremo scoprire il nostro mondo e quello della lana in tutte le sue declinazioni: le pecore, i pastori, la sostenibilità e l’ambiente di lavoro.

Nel nostro Lanificio, testimonianza di Archeologia Industriale:

conoscere e toccare con mano la varietà e vastità del concetto “lana” attraverso le nostre esposizioni e il magazzino di lana sucida;
ti immergerai nell’ambiente di lavoro e nella sua conseguente società camminando tra il Villaggio Operaio e la fabbrica;
scoprirai l’eternità sostenibile dell’acqua visitando la Centrale Idroelettrica

Un fine settimana alla scoperta del Biellese, nella sua totalità: lana, archeologia industriale ,natura, relax e outdoor nel meraviglioso contesto del Parco Naturale Oasi Zegna

Possiamo personalizzare il tuo viaggio!

Non esitare a contattarci per trovare insieme la soluzione migliore! amicilana@gmail.com

The Wool Experience project.

In Italy there are hundreds, if not thousands, of hidden treasures. Well away from the beautiful cities of Rome, Florence and Venice, distant from the large industrial cities in the north, one can find areas of Italy which have developed into clusters of manufacturing excellence. In the Biella district, north of the rice fields of Vercelli and at the very foot of the Italian Alps, they used the water both to provide energy to the mills and also to facilitate the many textile processes which are required to make the best quality cloth.

Over a thousand years of wool processing has left its mark on the whole area. Water courses, chimneys, small derelict mills, workers villages, hydroelectric plants, some of the best known names in the textile world still have their roots in the very green valleys of north Piemonte. In the Cervo valley, villages still hug the mountainside, positioned to receive as much sunlight as possible in the winter months. Many of these have few habitants today, but visitors enjoy exploring the narrow passages, the sound of water trickling from the fountains in the background.

The larger villages, such as Miagliano, were the perfect place for entrepreneurs such as Sig Poma to build one of his cotton mills, but his ideas would have a lasting effect on the surrounding areas. He rebuilt Miagliano along the lines of similar textile villages in the north of Europe, and provided many services for his workers, such as housing, medicine and food. He also built a narrow gauge railway to Biella, to transport cotton, coal and workers.

Since the demise of the Poma empire, the village and factory has undergone many changes and has housed many textile enterprises. Every one of them has left their mark, and the mill is now living its fourth “rebirth”. Wool. Raw greasy wool. The same material that has been used for many centuries and created much wealth in the whole of Europe. Today, since the development of synthetic fibres, wool has lost much of its importance, but it is still essential to the textile industry, being natural, renewable and sustainable. Here is the only wool collection centre in Italy, where wool is still sorted by hand, as no machine has yet been developed that can perform this operation.

Other parts of the factory have been converted into exhibition and theatrical areas. This sector is an essential link between yesterday, today and tomorrow, here in Miagliano.

4 floors below the factory, 2 water driven turbines turn out enough electrical energy to supply the whole of Miagliano.

The Wool Experience project is very much in its infancy. It is Work in progress. However this offers the opportunity to the visitor not only to see things how they were in the past but also hopes to stimulate the visitor to imagine how things could be in the future, here in Miagliano. A unique project for a unique territory.

There are many places to stay in the biellese area, which is certainly the prettiest wool manufacturing district in the world. Visit the website of Consorzio Alpi Biellesi, to see other attractions and hospitality which will make your weekend unique and extremely relaxing.