NOVARA | PIEDMONT

Discover Novara

The province of Novara was founded in 1992 when it separated from the province of Vercelli.
The lands of Novara are flat in the south and hilly in the central-northern part. The plain is mostly planted with rice.
To the north are the beautiful Maggiore and Orta lakes that partly belong to Novara.
From Lake Orta you can see the chapels of the scenic Sacred Mount, a World Heritage Site dedicated to St. Francis.
The vegetation on the Sacred Mount is maintained as a kind of historical garden, with beech, lime, oak, pine forest, box, laurel and holly.

The romantic at heart can wander among the beauties of the small village of Orta San Giulio in the maze of streets around the main square. Balconies and small craft shops embellish the village.
You will be enchanted by the island of San Giulio, dominated by the ex-seminary and bell tower.
In the north of the Novara province, the Mottarone peak, part of the Vergante mountain range, is 1491 metres high
24 km from Novara, on the right bank of the Sesia River, is beautiful Ghemme with its landscape of moraine plains and vineyards. The town dates from Roman times and was also important during the Middle Ages as the De Castello Barbavara family stronghold. At the end of the 1400s many of the richest Piedmont and Lombardy families took up residence there, attracted by the fertility of the land and the excellent produce, such as the wine and cheese. The bell tower of the parish church of Beata Panacea dominates the town centre. The Ricetto fortification, a richly historical, traditional building 12 meters high, was where the population sought protection for themselves and their harvests from barbarians, soldiers and bandits.

South of Ghemme, nestling among the Novara hills, is Sizzano. Originally Roman, it was the ancient centre for the diffusion of Christianity, as the epigraph of Aucusta from 519 testifies, preserved in the parish church of San Vittore. Sizzano, like Ghemme, was plundered many times, and to protect the citizens and their goods the Ricetto was built. Divided into a hundred lots, families could keep their crops and livestock there and use it as a refuge in times of invasion. Worth a visit is the Santa Maria church from 12th-13th centuries, the 12th-century former oratory of S. Grato, and the Tornielli family palace with its 16th-century screw press for making wine.
Fried fish, exceptional cheese, polenta and cold meats are the delicacies not to be missed in Novara. Among the best wines are Sizzano, Ghemme and Colline Novaresi. The true “king” of the locally produced cheeses is gorgonzola, considered one of the most important and exquisite products of Italian gastronomy.