A small town in the province of Vercelli, located in the middle of the Valsesia, along the river Sesia, at about 80 kilometers from the regional capital, Scopa is devoted to agriculture and is famous for the cultivation of vines and the production of DOC labeled wines. For its climatic location, the town has recently become an important tourist resort for Summer holidays.
Presence of settlements in the valleys bordering the river Sesia are documented since prehistory. The Romans colonized the area, and at the fall of the Empire, the territories were occupied by the Barbarians and the Lombards. During the medieval period, Walser populations from the Valais found shelter and built their settlements in the Upper Valley. In the early 14th century, according to the traditions, the inhabitants of the valley gathered together here with the intent to expel from the territory, the revolutionary heretic, Fra 'Dolcino.
At the time of the Lords, the lands were ceded from the Duchy of Milan to the Savoy and later fell under the domination of France. Before the Risorgimento, Scopa was annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia. Over the later centuries the town shared the same fate and historical events of the entire Piedmont region, and in a particular way, in the most important episodes of the XX century: between wars, dictatorship and the partisan resistance.
Not to mis:
- the old Parish Church of San Bartolomeo;
- the Church of Sant' Elisabetta;
- the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena;
- the Oratory of San Bernardo, located in the district of Scopetta;
- the Oratory of Saints Rocco, Fabiano and Sebastiano in the district of Muro;
- the Oratory of St. Martin in the village of Ramello;
- the Shrine of Our Lady in the village of Otra;
- the Oratory of St. John the Baptist in the village of Salterana;
- the Parks of the Valsesia region: the Alpine Park of the Alta Valsesia, which extends up to 4559 meters above sea level; the Park of Mount Fenera and the Natural Reserve of Sacro Monte di Varallo situated on a rocky promontory. This large complex of parks preserve within approximately 50 chapels, that feature more of 800 natural size wooden and polychrome clay statues.