On Routes 26 and 505, 45 km North of Ivrea. In northern Piedmont the wall of the Alps comes down from Monte Rosa in moraine valleys and rocky outcrops. Almost every formation which geology associates with glaciers is found here. Throughout the countryside there is almost no farming, except for sheep, and scarcely any industry from the Swiss border to Lake Maggiore, except for tourism.

Some Valsesia areas are designated natural parks, where chamois, marmots, blue hares and other endangered species are protected. A feature of the torrent valleys are the caldaie del Sesia – potholes.

On the Sacro Monte near Varallo, amid thick woodland of chestnut and pine, stands the ‘New Jerusalem’, a church with 45 chapels dedicated to scenes of Christ’s life. It was begun in 1431 by the monk Caimi in memory of the holy places he had visited on a pilgrimage to Palestine. Over the centuries most of Piedmont’s prominent artists, including Ferrari, Morazzone and Tanzio da Varallo, have contributed to its decoration, which at the last count amounted to 740 statues and 4,000 frescoed figures – the greatest religious complex of its kind.

You reach the Sacro Monte from the Aosta-Genoa motorway by turning north to the A26 at Santhia or Vercelli and north-west up the Sesia valley at Romagnano.