Il Ricetto di Candelo: a medieval village a stone's throw from home
Today I re-visited the Ricetto di Candelo in the province of Biella with my trusty Aramis. A stone's throw from my home in Andorno Micca, but also less than 100km from Legnano and/or Milan and/or Novara... its beauty remains intact over time and in good weather... it is... extraordinary …Do you know him? Follow me…
The Ricetto di Candelo a stone's throw from home
From my home in Andorno Micca it is about 10 km, from Legnano 85km and around 105 from Milan. Today I don't want to be a"geographer", but I want to point out that we have excellence right under our doorstep that can be reached in no time. In any case, with Aramis and Donatella, taking advantage of the good weather and the stay in the mountains, we stopped by the Ricetto di Candelo. To tell the truth, I'll be back often, especially in summer. Today with the sun it was extraordinary. It is a fortified structure built by the will of the Candela population around the 13th-14th century, with the aim of conserving and defending the most precious assets of the community following the numerous wars between the Spanish and the French. The inhabitants did not live there permanently, but only to conserve their goods and to "take refuge" during disasters and wars. Thanks to this, it has maintained over time this rural matrix of guardian of the peasant community and is part of the Borghi d'Italia…(See link)
Il Ricetto di Candelo Borgo d'Italia
You know the program “Il Kilimanjaro” with the competition “The most beautiful villages in Italy” strong>broadcast on Rai3 with Philippe Daverio? . Well in 2018, that very broadcast made the Borgo known to all of Italy (the final ranking saw Ricetto in 18th position) . On various occasions the Ricetto has been the subject of "live" broadcasts, including recordings by foreign television stations. The Candelesi are proud of all this and I am even more so. I felt an "indirect" Pride this morning walking through the streets of the village, discovering the little shops, the cellars (some closed for the Christmas holidays).
on the other hand, today was the last day of the Slow Food "Earth Market" exhibition-market. Emotion amplified when walking on the "internal" walls, but even more so on the "external" ones. In fact, this morning with Aramis, we did the "external" perimeter and with the splendor of the day it was magnificent... (see the photos...). Stop for an aperitif in Piazza Castello at the Bar “La Torre”…I recommend it for its friendliness and goodness. Speaking of the entrance tower, my mind flew to "my" Castello Visconteo Lampugnani in Legnano...(last photo below)
The History of Ricetto
In988it is the first time that Candelo's name appears in an official document; Canderium is confirmed as feudal possession of Manfred by Otto III.
Towards the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century, the inhabitants of Candelo built the Ricetto on land owned by local lords, for which they initially paid an annual census and which they then redeem.
In 1360there were 157 huts in the village (today there are around 200).
From 1374to 1517the town passed under the control of various families including the Savoias, the Fontanas, and finally the Ferrero – Fieschis, at the time counts of Masserano.
Between 1554 and 1632 Candelo was involved in a series of unpleasant events including the fights between the French and the Spanish and the decimation of the population due to the plague; the elevation of the fiefdom to county remains one of the few positive sides of this period.
From 1644 to 1649, new Spanish occupations caused fires and destruction.
1785: Carlo Sebastiano Ferrero Fieschi is the last feudal lord of Candelo; with the Napoleonic occupation the political-administrative structure of the village changed.
1819: construction of the current town hall begins on the ancient walls of the Ricetto; always in the same year Piazza Castello was built.
Il “Principe” Sebastiano Ferrero
Sebastiano Ferrero was one of the most important men of his time in this territory, advisor and treasurer of finances first for the Duchy of Savoy and then for that of Milan. Many testimonies in the Biella area are linked to him, such as the beautiful Church of San Sebastiano in Biella.
In 1489, a large part of Candelo was in the possession of Sebastiano Ferrero but the relationship with the Candelesi was not simple. The new Lord had many demands: annual and perpetual payment of a ducat per family, the mill of Candelo; rights on the Ricetto and also an annual census of 21 ducats; Meeting of the Council only in his presence, the key to the Ricetto, the collection of fines and rural notices
The population considered the Lord's claims absurd: the community had purchased the land and built the Ricettowith his own money and considered it a collective property of the town. The case was then brought to arbitration and the so-called "award" was concluded in favor of the Community of Candelo. However, Sebastiano Ferrero built a house inside the village of Ricetto, the so-called " prince's tower" and also carried out interventions to widen the existing water channels and created new ones to irrigate the agricultural lands.
