Bessa Reserve, the Romans' gold mines
A wood full of huge heaps of pebbles laid out in regular rows: not a quirk of nature, but the waste from one of the largest gold mines of antiquity.
- Difficulty
- E Hiking
- Length
- 4.5 km
- Elevation gain
- +60 m / −60 m
- Time
- 1.5–2 hours
- Route
- Out and back
- Altitude
- 508–559 m
- Season
- Spring Summer Autumn Winter
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The story
Between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, after taking the area from the Salassi and the Ictimuli, the Romans washed these glacial deposits for gold: thousands of workers moved mountains of gravel, leaving the heaps you still see today. Ancient writers such as Pliny the Elder mention them.
Why go
Because it is one of the best-preserved ancient mining landscapes in Europe, and almost no one outside the Biella area knows about it.
Practical information
- Start
- Zubiena
- Finish
- Cascina Abbadia della Bessa, back the same way
- Best time
- All year, best in spring and autumn
- Parking
- Car parks in Zubiena and at the reserve entrances.
- By public transport
- Bus from Biella with few runs.
- Water
- Only in the village.
- Shade
- Chestnut and birch woods.
- Huts and refreshments
- None.
- With children
- Yes: an easy route that children find fascinating.
Weather at the start
The forecast for the next 7 days at this spot: sky, temperatures, rain and wind.
Forecast by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), from the models of national weather services. Your browser downloads it directly from Open-Meteo, and only when you ask. In the mountains and at sea the weather changes quickly: check the official forecast as well before you set off.
What to see on the route and nearby
After the hike, into the water
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Routes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via Waymarked Trails and BRouter; elevations from a digital terrain model. Times and elevation gains are indicative: waymarks on the ground and closure orders always take precedence.