Where to see it today

Sentences without a label are documented facts; the others are marked "probable" or "uncertain".

Of the gold mine, the Roman colony and the centuries up to the Franks there remain traces that can still be seen: the heaps of the Bessa, the remains of Eporedia within today's town, the objects gathered in museums. This page says, place by place, what can be seen and where to look for practical information.

The Bessa Reserve

The Bessa terrace stretches for about 8 km from Mongrando to Cerrione, between the Olobbia and Elvo streams. Since 1985 the area has been protected as a regional park: today it is the Riserva Naturale Speciale della Bessa. The enormous heaps of pebbles left by the mine can still be seen in great numbers. On top of many of them hut floors survive, small hollows with remains of dry-stone walls: these were the workers' homes.

Among the heaps there also remain the low walls and pens of the farmers and shepherds of later centuries. At the Barbera quarry at Cerrione a Roman outlet channel has been excavated and covered with a protective roof. probable In the bed of the Elvo, which skirts the spoil heaps of the Bessa, gold is still panned, more plentiful because of the old waste from the washing. probable

The so-called castelliere of Mongrando has been protected since 1976 and was restored in 2005, but the excavations of the 1960s did not prove that it is ancient: according to Pipino it is a recent water-management structure. uncertain

Information, trails and the Vermogno visitor centre: on the website of the Ente di gestione delle Aree protette del Ticino e del Lago Maggiore, which manages the Reserve.

Sources: Gianotti 2011, p. 183; Gianotti 2016, pp. 1, 4; Balbo 2018, p. 57; Pipino 2010, pp. 1-3, 5, 7, 12, 20-22; Pipino 2020, p. 43; Pipino 2021a, p. 5; Sánchez-Palencia, Vaudagna 2008, p. 22; official website, consulted on 14 October 2026

Roman Ivrea

Scattered traces of the colony of Eporedia remain in today's town:

• The amphitheatre stood outside the town, along the road to Vercelli, about 500 metres from the eastern edge of the Roman settlement. According to a study of 2014 it is fenced and can be visited with a guide. Information page: italia.it.
• The Ponte Vecchio keeps part of its Roman base in squared blocks of local stone, which can be seen only from the upstream side.
• The main bridge: about 470 metres further downstream, opposite corso Re Umberto, its ruins remain in the riverbed and on the bottom of the Naviglio.
• The theatre: its semicircular shape can still be read in the streets and houses between via Cattedrale and piazza di Città. What remains is a brick wall along via Cattedrale and masonry in the cellars of palazzo Gariglietti.
• The cathedral: Roman columns and capitals of the Imperial age are reused in the ambulatory; the crypt holds the sarcophagus of Gaius Atecius Valerius, quaestor, aedile and duumvir, with a Celtic family name.
• The aqueduct: the conduit can be seen almost all the way through the woods between the Maresco di Bienca and Lake Coniglio.

Information about the town: Comune di Ivrea.

Sources: Legrottaglie 2014, p. 89; Curzio 2014, pp. 6, 10-12; Brecciaroli Taborelli 2007, pp. 129-131, 138; Sacchi 2014, pp. 52-53; Rubat Borel 2014, p. 43; official websites, consulted on 14 October 2026

The museums

At the Museo civico P.A. Garda in Ivrea you can see the stele of the freedman Lucius Ebutius Faustus with the carved groma, the bronze plates from the amphitheatre, the medallion of Antoninus Pius and the model of the La Serra excavation. Collections, opening times and tickets: on the Museo Garda website, on the page Opening times and prices.

Between 1975 and 1982 six single-pointed iron picks were found in the Barbera quarry at Cerrione. probable Two are on display at the Museo del Territorio in Biella; the other four, according to Pipino, are kept in the Museo Storico dell'Oro Italiano. probable Information page of the Biella museum: italia.it.

Sources: Curzio 2014, pp. 6-7; Legrottaglie 2014, p. 85; Barello 2014, p. 127; Brecciaroli Taborelli 2007, p. 136; Pipino 2010, p. 12; official websites, consulted on 14 October 2026

The other places on the map

• Mazzè: the stele, about 4 metres long, was found in 1988 on the bank of the Dora near the dam; since 2007 it has stood in the open in the village square. probable Information: Comune di Mazzè.
• Paraj Àuta: this is the Brich Appareglio at Pavone Canavese, where the most important settlement of the eastern Canavese stood. The sources collected do not describe any remains visible today.
• San Secondo di Salussola: an Early Christian basilica measuring 22.60 by 12.60 metres was excavated here between 1991 and 1998. The sources collected do not say whether or how it can be visited.
• Borgomasino: the Lombard necropolis was found between 1875 and 1897 while clay was being dug for a kiln; the excavations were not documented and most of the objects were dispersed. The sources do not mention any remains visible on the spot.

Sources: Gallo 2015, p. 4; Rubat Borel 2014, pp. 39-40; Pipino 2014, p. 9; Giostra 2014, pp. 158-159; official website, consulted on 14 October 2026

Open questions

That the amphitheatre can be visited with a guide is stated by a study of 2014: the opening days should be checked on the official websites. The sources collected do not say whether there is a waymarked trail along the aqueduct. The castelliere of Mongrando also remains debated, protected since 1976 but with no proof that it is ancient. uncertain

Sources: Curzio 2014, p. 12; Brecciaroli Taborelli 2007, p. 138; Pipino 2010, pp. 5, 20-22