It is a municipality in the province of Biella, located a short distance from the provincial capital, on the right side of the river Cervo. The municipal area includes a large part of the Baraggia, a strip of uncultivated land, about 5,000 hectares large, famous especially for its botanical and geological features, a Natural Reserve, which also includes territories of the provinces of Biella, Vercelli and Novara. It is a preserved town in the country, fortified and inhabited, from the Latin "receptum" (refuge) for food and animals, and for the people in times of epidemics and wars. The plan, which was originally to be square, has become pentagonal to adapt to uneven terrain, the walls have round towers at the corners and two square portals at the entrance and opposite end of the main road. The inner perimeter is one main street, separated by houses and divided by several symmetric side roads. Ingenious and still current architectural solutions, such as the "riana," a narrow gap created between the houses to collect rain water and prevent fires from spreading.
In 988 Candelo belonged to Manfred of Cavaglià, son of the Earl of Vercelli, who was later ceded the domain to Count Amadeus VI of Savoy, to Gerardo Fontana of Piacenza, who shared with the newcomers, the Lessona and the Villani. In 1489 it became the possession of Sebastian Ferrero and then it passed by inheritance to the branch of Ferrero Fieschi. During the second half of the XVI century, the fief became a county in the same period and was repeatedly invaded by the French and scourged by the plague. In the first half of the XVIII century it became a fief of Vittorio Amedeo Fieschi. It suffered the domination of Napoleon and later saw the return of the Savoy with which they returned in force the old municipal statutes.
Not to miss:
- the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, built before the year 1000 and is the oldest parish in the area. Originally it featured a single nave and was the subject of numerous rearrangements until the XVIII century. Currently the inside features three naves divided by granite columns. The façade is embellished with a portico built in the first half of the XVII century and a wooden portal created by Antonio Ferraroni in 1736. The Bell tower dates from the period between the XVI and the XVII century. Inside the tower features valuable works of the XVII century and well-made wooden finishes: in the small chapel of St. John the Baptist is kept a XVII century altarpiece depicting the Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and St. John, by an unknown author, a panel depicting the Crucifixion , opera in 1572, of Boniforte Oldoni, the fresco of the right aisle was painted by Gaspar de Forner and dates between the XV-XVI century.
- the Parish Church of St. Peter, cited in 1222, was rebuilt from 1679. The façade dates from the first half of the XX century and is the artwork of the architect Mosso, and features a beautiful carved portal dating from the XVIII century, an XVIII century sacristy, fine furniture, paintings and sculptures dating from the XVII and XVIII centuries.
- the Church of San Lorenzo, dating from the period before year 1000 and restored in the XVII century in Baroque style, features a fine portal dating from the XVIII attributed to Carlo Francesco Aureggio, and sculptures of the same period attributed to the same artist and his brother Pietro Giuseppe, a valuable pulpit, a statue of the Madonna del Carmine, a crucifix and busts of the XVII century, reliquaries and vestments of the XVIII century. The Bell tower is also the XVIII century.
- the Oratory of Santa Croce, built between 1640 and 1643 and restored in the XX century, it features a lintel of the presbytery, in carved and painted wood dating from the XVII century, a wooden Crucifix by Giuseppe Orsini and the relic of the Holy Cross.
- the Oratory of St. Grata and James which was built in 1683 on an already existing chapel dedicated to St. Grato. It features a single nave and preserves an altar of 1765.
- the Ricetto.