Villa Berlanghino is a large building in neoclassical style put up around 1920. For decades it belonged to the Gallo industrialists and it is now owned by the municipality of Cossato, which opened the park to the public: that is the part the townspeople use most, and the reason the villa entered the life of the town instead of staying a private house behind a gate.
What to see
Inside, the piece you remember is the imposing wooden staircase, along with the architecture of the interiors; outside, the neoclassical front holds its own against the greenery around it. The park is informal in layout, with the vegetation typical of gardens in the Biella district, and the material that defines it is Baveno granite: it is used for the grottoes, the pockets for herbaceous plants, the low walls with benches and the small stairways that mark out the paths and give the garden its skeleton. Among the trees are several of majestic growth, cedars, firs, magnolias, sequoias and palms.
Visiting
The park is freely accessible and half an hour covers it; the villa itself opens for events and initiatives, so check the municipal calendar before counting on the interiors. Anyone arriving in summer should take the circuit in the shade of the cedars, which is the finest part of the garden.
Our editors' tip
Sequoias and palms in a garden of the Biella district are not an isolated whim: they are the signature of a period when the industrial families of the area competed to plant exotic species in their own parks. Looking at the trees dates the villa better than looking at the facade.