The Redwoods of the Burcina Park still look vigorous and have regular, thick and imposing canopies. These magnificent Sequoia sempervirens were planted in 1848, at the behest of Giovanni Piacenza (1811-1883), to celebrate the promulgation of the Albertine Statute. Introduced into Europe from California in around 1840, the specimens planted in Burcina were certainly among the first to be planted in Italy. The entire Park, located north-west of Biella, was created thanks to this commendable Biella wool industrialist and important local politician, who created the first infrastructures and the first reforestation, with native and exotic species. These interventions earned Piacenza the praise of Quintino Sella in a parliamentary session in 1868 (Furno et al., 1996). The development of the park, as we see it today, was the work of his son Felice (1843-1938), who designed and created the renowned collection of rhododendrons and the liriodendron avenue.
