Chiostro di San Sebastiano - Biella

The cloister of the convent of San Sebastiano lost its function during Napoleon's rule and was first used as a barracks, then a charity shelter, and finally a school. In 1986, the Municipality of Biella began restoration work, and today it houses the Museum of the Territory, opened in 2001. The evocative rooms of the former convent display works from the Middle Ages to the present day, some of which come from the surrounding area and some from donations received by the city starting in the late 19th century. Alongside the historical and artistic section where medieval frescoes and altarpieces from the 16th and 17th centuries are followed by 19th-century landscapes by Delleani and Bozzalla and works of contemporary art with examples by Mirò, Chagall and many others, the museum presents the archaeological section which collects finds from different periods from excavations carried out in the Biella area and a collection of Egyptian finds, which include a collection donated by Quintino Sella in 1908 and some items deposited by the Egyptian Museum of Turin to pay homage to the famous Biella Egyptologist Ernesto Schiapparelli.