On May 28–29, 2025, the Città Studi Biella campus hosted a two-day international conference exploring the relationship between communities and sacred sites in the mountain regions of Europe. The event, part of a project funded through the UNITA Starting Grants for Research, focused on the territories surrounding the universities of Turin, Zaragoza, and Chambéry, and also included a comparative case study from New Zealand.
The conference was jointly promoted by the Università di Torino, Universidad de Zaragoza, and Université Savoie Mont-Blanc—partners in the UNITA alliance—in collaboration with the International Association for Research on Sanctuaries. The aim was to examine the preservation and sustainable valorization of sacred sites in European mountain areas.
Students from the master’s degree course in Cultural Heritage and Creativity for Tourism and Territorial Development at Città Studi Biella actively contributed to the event.
Prof. Paolo Cozzo, Director of the Department of Historical Studies at the Università di Torino, explained that the conference aimed to “foster various exchange and research activities among UNITA partners, such as Turin, Zaragoza, and Chambéry, which all share a unique connection with mountainous environments as a common element.”
The event was part of a broader research initiative on mountains and territorial development, supported by the UNITA Starting Grants.
Students presented the outcomes of one of their academic projects and introduced the features of their degree program to the international participants. Professors from the three universities gave lectures on a wide range of topics: systems for cataloguing and preserving cultural heritage, crimes against ecclesiastical heritage and related security systems, strategies for tourism development of sacred sites in mountainous areas, and even the historical memory linked to football teams.
The conference also expanded its scope beyond Europe, featuring a case study from New Zealand, which highlighted a different, yet equally rich and deeply rooted relationship with sacred mountains in Oceania.
One full day was dedicated to sacred sites in the Biella area—specifically Oropa, Graglia, and San Giovanni d’Andorno—and later extended to the broader network of Sacred Mounts across Piedmont and Lombardy. French and Spanish experiences were presented as comparative examples. The event concluded with a visit to the Oropa Sanctuary and its Sacred Mount.
