High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Sacro Monte di Oropa (literally Sacred Mount of Oropa') is a Roman Catholic devotional complex in the comune of Biella, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Construction began in 1617, near the pre-existing Sanctuary of Virgin Mary, one of the oldest in Piedmont and one of the best known in the region of the Alps. The 12 chapels (plus another seven nearby) are united by a devotional path, and inside these chapels scenes from the story of the life of the Virgin Mary are represented.