Parco Burcina Natural Reserve, Regional nature reserve in Biella, Italy

The Parco Burcina Natural Reserve covers about 57 hectares on the Burcina hill between Pollone and Biella, from 570 to 829 metres above sea level. Its wooded slopes, crossed by the border between the two municipalities, hold meadows, clearings and a rhododendron valley of about two hectares. A small lake with fountains, created in 1848, lies in the lower part.

Giovanni Piacenza purchased the land in the early 1800s and transformed it following English landscape garden principles. This transformation established it as a systematically arranged botanical collection that survives today.

The grounds were deliberately planted with local species and exotic varieties like giant sequoias, creating botanical diversity throughout the reserve. As visitors walk through, they encounter different plant zones that feel like distinct landscapes, each with its own character.

The park has three pedestrian entrances: at the base, at mid-height and at the top. The whole park is pedestrianised; car access is allowed only for disabled visitors, and only on Thursdays. A new entrance towards Pollone, with a bridge over the Vandorba stream designed by Pietro Porcinai, was donated in 1950.

The rhododendron valley covers two of the park's 57 hectares and was laid out by Felice Piacenza, who gave over fifty years of his life to enlarging the garden begun by his father Giovanni. Peak flowering falls in May and June, when the slope above the buildings turns pink and magenta.