Go to the Upper Garden
Lower garden
Every turn a corner, there is a new discovery: seven ramps of green lawn and develop like a vertical labyrinth, with the first ones wide and open to the landscape, while the lower ones are narrower and more bordered by box hedges. On the tall walls grow apple trees in a candelabra shape, in front of which runs a flowerbed of perennials. The majestic nymphaeum and captures our attention with the , relaxing sound of its fountain, and the shade of the high vaults offers to a rejuvenating peaceful rest.
The centerpiece and beating heart of the lower garden is the nymphaeum, with its three large arches. It is part of a complex architectural structure that includes terraces and symmetrical ramps, designed to enrich the urban landscape. In 1715, Francesco Celestino Ferrero della Marmora perfected this vision, integrating monumental elements that enhance the landscape value of the site to the maximum, the result of an evolution handed down from generation to generation since 1500. Unlike many other nymphaeums, It is not hidden, but opens up towards the city, offering a spectacular and unexpected view.
As long as citizens traveled on foot or on horseback, the Costa San Sebastiano was an important connecting road and La Marmora family often used the ramps to descend to Biella. However, from the early 20th century onwards, with the introduction of cars, the use of these connections decreased steadily, and the ramps fell into disuse.
The first ramp differs from all the others in that it is wider and longer, and terminating in an almost circular area where a imposing lime tree stands. That lime tree was planted in 1950 on the occasion of the birth of Francesco Alberti La Marmora. The circular shape of the area reveals revealing that it was once the top of one of the two defensive towers of the nearby Palazzo Ferrero.
Along the walls of the wider ramps, espalier fruit trees, apple trees have been and recalling the atmosphere of an “ancient vegetable garden.
