Palazzo La Marmora

Historic residence of the Ferrero della Marmora family in the Piazzo of Biella, with a neoclassical façade, decorated rooms and a Renaissance garden, open by appointment.

Opening hours unknown

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About the museum

Palazzo La Marmora stands in the Piazzo quarter of Biella, at Corso del Piazzo 19. The Ferrero della Marmora family has owned it since the 16th century and has lived there for about eight centuries. The original core dates from the 14th century, while most of the extensions and alterations date from between the 17th century and the late 18th century; the neoclassical façade, about 80 metres long, was restored in 2015–2016.

Many rooms retain their original decoration. Points of interest include the paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari showing the ancestors of the family, the Sala dei castelli (Hall of Castles) with early 17th-century frescoes depicting the estates of the La Marmora family, an armoury on the ground floor with a 16th-century fireplace, and the ballroom, decorated by Giovannino Galliari with his father Fabrizio.

Behind the courtyard a garden of Renaissance layout opens up, reached through the glass greenhouse (winter garden) that houses a Ficus repens about two hundred years old. The garden rests on the foundations of a 12th-century castle. The palace is partly a private residence, partly a house museum, and partly available for private and corporate events.

Highlights

Paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari with the ancestors of the La Marmora family
Sala dei castelli with early 17th-century frescoes
Ballroom decorated by Galliari
Renaissance garden and winter garden with Ficus repens