Strolling around the province of Novara with Alessandro Antonelli

PIEDMONT NOVARA AND ITS PROVINCE

Strolling around the Province of Novara with Alessandro Antonelli

fioratti editore

San Gaudenzio’s Dome in Novara

Novara’s Neoclassicism

by Enrico Fumagalli

In summer 2008 Turin hosted the 23rd Architects’ World Conference and for the occasion the great “Guarini, Juvarra, Antonelli: Signs and symbols in Turin” exhibition was held in Palazzo Bricherasio, dedicated to the three architects who left indelible signs of their creativity both on the capital and on the entire Piedmont territory during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

We are proud that one of these illustrious personages had Novara origins and on occasion of the 210th anniversary from Alessandro Antonelli’s birth, occurred in Ghemme on July 14, 1789 and the 120th anniversary from his death in Turin on October 18, 1888, the Local Tourist Board of the Province of Novara decided to create a themed itinerary dedicated to its most famous architect in order to popularise the most important monuments he created on his homeland.

There are nine different municipalities which have preserved intact the architect’s masterpieces, most of which can be visited regularly. The Dome, which crowns the San Gaudenzio Basilica, the capital’s landmark, can be visited in specific periods accompanied by guides.

We therefore invite you to visit the province of Novara through an itinerary which recounts Antonelli’s footprints, permitting to discover the artistic, natural, traditional, wine and gastronomic richness which characterises our territory.

Maria Rosa Fagnoni President of the Local Tourist Board of the Province of Novara

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From the paddy fields which populate the plain to the gentle slopes covered with vines, the Province of Novara is a mosaic of surprises, where human activity and nature harmonically coexist. During this discovery we will be accompanied by Alessandro Antonelli, the illustrious architect who decorated the boroughs and the capital with neoclassical monuments.

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his year we celebrate opinion, he would personally Antonelli’s anniversaries: follow the construction site twenty-one decades from his and constantly modify each birth, twelve from his death. project, he wanted everyNinety years, between 1798 thing to be done accordand 1888, dominated by Neing to his beliefs and would oclassicism, making of Aneven test the bricks himself tonelli one of its most original by jumping on them. A will and important representaof steal, a great though fretives. The aesthetics of clasquently misunderstood intesic perfection represented rior strength which permitted by such movement found in him to face the incredible the architect of the Mole an adversities he came upon. audacious experimenter who Antonelli did not just limit prematurely combined the himself in designing; he was language of techniques and a daring experimenter too. functionality with traditional His “constructive system” architecture.

INSIDE AND OUTSIDE San Gaudenzio’s was based on a timeless Civil edifices, religious mon- Dome in Novara, an emblematic creation conception: load-bearing eluments, public and urban along Antonelli’s artistic career, a ements and the reduction of response to his vertical aspirations. architecture, urban developfull spaces were his fulcrum. ment plans: Antonelli was interested in every- The walls of the Antonellian buildings have the thing and he was also into politics and teaching. mere function of defining the internal spaces.

Genius in intuitions and characterised by an ar- Support and firmness are guaranteed by pillars rogant behaviour, fascinated by the vertiginous which hold up horizontally bounded vaults and heights reached by his own creations, he spent arches. It was a daring for the time intuition, a his whole life in modelling and re-modelling his system which was consolidated later, during the artefacts, as if in constant challenge since bibli- 20th century, due to the use of pillars and trusses cal times: it took him 46 years to build San Gau- built with reinforced concrete. denzio’s Dome in Novara (whose height grew Of course Antonelli was active in the 19th century from 58 to 122 meters), 25 for the construction and he was therefore “obliged” to use bricks and of the Mole in Turin (from 46 to 167 metres) and accept all the disastrous outcomes suffered by his last 58 years for the Sanctuary of Boca, his buildings. In addition, the “exuberant” dimenwhich he never saw completed. With Antonelli sions of his creations would create great difficulany last-minute change or argument with cli- ties, often prolonging the works and generating ents was normal. He would contest everyone’s additional costs.

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The Colline Novaresi wines Novara boasts an ancient wine tradition, awarded with the four Protected Designation of Origin wines it produces, already famous in 1969: Ghemme Docg, Boca Doc, Fara Doc, Sizzano Doc all named after the four territories in which they are produced using the local vines nebbiolo, vespolina and uva rara. The collection is completed with the Colline Novaresi Doc, a collection of seven different types of wine produced in the twenty-five municipalities situated on the hills.

Ghemme is produced in the territory of Ghemme and partly around Romagnano Sesia. It is characterised by a ruby-red colour with garnet nuances; violet and rose reflexes, red fruits and liquorice; dry, savoury taste with a pleasant, slightly bitter after-taste. Percentages: 75% nebbiolo (spanna) and 25% vespolina and/or bonarda novarese (uva rara). It requires at least 36 months of aging, of which 20 months in wooden barrels and 9 months in the bottle.

Recognised as Doc since 1969, in 1997 it was labelled Docg and may as well be called “Riserva” if produced with 12,5% of pure alcohol, aged for 25 months in wooden barrels and 9 in the bottle. It is perfect with cold cuts, red meat, stews, braised meat and game. Rovelloti, Interno Castello 22, Ghemme, tel. +39.0163.841781, www.rovellotti.it; Situated inside the Fort of Ghemme, carrying a long lasting history, it produces Ghemme and Ghemme Riserva, Passito Valdenrico and different types of Colline Novaresi (Nebbiolo, Bonarda, Vespolina, Bianco). Il Rubino Cantine, via Mazzini 35, Romagnano Sesia, tel. +39.0163.833108, www.ilrubino.net.

Boca is produced with nebbiolo (spanna, 45-70%), vespolina (20-40%) and bonarda novarese (uva rara, max 20%) vines, cultivated on gravel lands, characterised by an elevated percentage in acidity. The production area occupies the municipal territory of Boca and part of Maggiora, Cavallirio, Prato Sesia and Grignasco. It is characterised by a bright ruby-red colour; fragrant of violets, fruits and spices; a dry and harmonic savour leaving a pomegranate after-taste.

Its aging requires 3 years, of which at least 2 years in oak or chestnut barrels. Best served at a temperature of 1820°C, it perfectly accompanies first-course dishes, red meat and game. Podere ai Valloni, via Traversagna, Boca, tel. +39.0322.87332, www.podereaivalloni.it; the vineyards and the wine cellar are situated in a splendid position covering the south ridge of Mount Fenera; the farm is run by the Serotrio family which practises organic cultivation, producing only one type of wine: the Boca Vigna Cristiana; the 1990 vintage was particularly valuable, receiving numerous recognitions. Cantine del Castello Conti, via Borgomanero 15, Maggiora, tel. +39.0322.87187, www.castelloconti.it.

ARCHITECTS AND WINE-PRODUCERS Above: the Sertorio couple, authors of the Boca Vigna Cristiana, in their estate. Below, from left, clockwise: Il Rubino Cantine in Romagnano Sesia; the neoclassical prospect of Villa Caccia facing Romagnano Sesia; the loggia which leads to the fourth floor of Casa Antonelli in Maggiora. On the next page: two pictures of the Sanctuary of Boca at the foot of Mount Fenera.

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Ambitious projects The project of refurbishing Bellinzago’s centre included the creation of a vast space delimited by porticos featuring different elements: the church, the belfry tower, the parsonage and the nursery school. But the costs implied a great economic effort from a community of just 2.800 souls. De Medici Nursery School, the only structure to have been completed, initially implied a budget of 40.000 lire, which was later reinforced with a 25.000 lire loan signed by the Municipality and through the voluntary contribution of the town’s inhabitants.

Antonelli did not get discouraged: the cost of the project, which was frequently revised, integrated and improved, never fell upon the local community.

The costs for the construction of the Beata Panacea Scurolo amounted to 41.300 lire and were paid by the local community of Ghemme in a difficult moment, given the scarce production of wine which had been hit by a disease. Antonelli was awarded with 400 lire, less than 1% of the total construction cost.

Although his name and fame are indissolubly bond to Turin’s architectural landmark, Antonelli’s origins and most of his representative creations are rooted in Novara and its province, scattered around the Colline Novaresi (Novara’s Hills,) Antonelli’s homeland, where the vines mature pro-

ducing the wines Ghemme and Boca. The itinerary we propose winds from the southern side of the Province to the hills and to the surrounding areas along which one can admire the most important edifices of Alessandro Antonelli.

Among them soars the Sanctuary of Boca, probably Antonelli’s most beloved creation, embraced by vineyards and woods, situated at the foot of Mount Fenera: an imposing edifice, so majestic for its conception and incomplete project, which saw the church both as fulcrum of an impressive cornice of porches, adding harmony to the new constructions which would have surrounded the courtyard and as a base for a high steeple, of which Antonelli never presented the designs as to avoid undesired reactions. The Dome in Novara inevitably became the city’s landmark. San Gaudenzio’s Dome is the most emblematic creation along Antonelli’s career, revealing the transition from “simple” neoclassicism to structural engineering which made its appearance in the late 19th century, anticipating the character of the 20th century modernism. The attempt to decipher the Antonellian architecture is dominated by two elements: magic and wiliness. Magic and spell for the power and elegance of his works; wiliness and tenacity for having defended with great persistency his personal intuitions.

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FLOWING WATER Mora Canal near the fort in Ghemme. Below, on the left: Cantina dei Santi in Romagnano Sesia: detail of the frescoes (above) and the portico (below). Above, on the right: the cemetery in Maggiora with its noble chapels among which stands Antonelli’s family-grave; below: the parsonage in Bellinzago Novarese. On the previous page: “Antonellian” vineyards and view of Campo della Ghina in Borgolavezzaro.

Alessandro Antonelli... a vineyard architect

Alessandro Antonelli did not only produce great civil and religious monuments. It is believed that he also contributed in the local agriculture, presenting a new cultivation system for the vines. It is a peculiar technique, known as “maggiorina”, still visible on the old plantations. In fact, the vineyards in Maggiora, as revealed by M.G. Virgili in his essay “Vite e vino nella nostra terra” (“Vine and wine on our land”), were “held up by vertical stakes, placed out of the wind’s reach, which could not always bear the weight of the vines and would therefore collapse dragging the almost mature grapes with them. It is thanks to Alessandro Antonelli, the ingenious architect of static masonry...that a practical solution was found: he for the first time challenged the sarcasm of the local producers and studied the “angle” of the load-bearing stakes, or better he placed them in an oblique angle so that their inclination would compensate the pulling force produced by the shoots, obtaining a perfect balance.

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The itinerary

A long route along the roads of the plain and the hills winds to the discovery of Antonellian monuments, reaching the most important villages of the province and various natural areas. Some hilly, pleasant and panoramic sites invite you to park your car and climb on your bike in order to best enjoy the landscape.

Departure: Novara Arrival: Borgolavezzaro Total length: 117 km The presence of Alessandro Antonelli in Novara is already visible from far away, any direction you chose to follow: towering over the paddies, before even intuiting the presence of the city, San Gaudenzio’s Dome stretches out towards the sky. The statue of Christ the Saviour soars at 121 metres from the ground while the circumference of its base is not more than 31 metres long. A hymn to verticality which implied a 45-year devotion and numerous other difficulties it went through between 1840 and 1885. Not distant from San Gaudenzio rises Casa Bossi, a modern, civil dwelling whose structure is supported by pillars

and columns, connected to each other through arches and vaults without the use of load-bearing walls. Antonelli’s creativeness is also present inside the Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral, built in “just” 14 years and inaugurated in 1849. The foursided portico which stands behind the Duomo is faced by the early-Christian Baptistery (5th century), which was refurbished during the 10th century.

Exit Novara along Corso Vittoria which spans the railway and winds northwards under the name SS32. At the 10th km, once past Cascina Bettola and crossed a canal, turn left towards Cavagliano and visit the Romanesque San Vito Oratory located inside the cemetery, which was reconstructed in the 15th century and decorated with frescoes during the 15th-16th centuries. Cross Cavagliano and its “castle”, an 18th century rural edifice built with pebbles and bricks, decorated with terracotta motifs. Exit from the centre and proceed towards the countryside up to Badia di Dulzago, situated at the moraine embankments of Terdoppio stream, guarding the paddy fields.

Founded in the 12th century next to the today gone lost Dulzago village, it was turned into an agricultural farmhouse just after the suppression of the religious community.

The road proceeds beyond the Badia and it soon reaches Bellinzago Novarese (18,5 km); via Don Minzoni and via Gramsci lead to San Clemente

AS FAR AS THE SIGHT CAN REACH The breathtaking panorama of Novara seen from San Gaudenzio’s Dome

Itinerary Departure Arrival Abbey, Sanctuary

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Church, Parish Cemetery Ancient Walls Palazzo, Villa

Castle

Tower

Cathedral

Antonellian Edifice

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NOVARA’S MOSAIC: Ghemme, the Barciocca Courtyard, inside the Ricetto during the Wine Festival. Below, from left clockwise: the De Medici Nursery School, one of Antonelli’s mature creations; detail of the frescoes in Santissima Trinità in Momo; the mondine’s dormitory in Cascina Caccia, Borgolavezzaro. On the next page: Oleggio, interior of the late-Romanesque, 10th century temple dedicated to San Michele.

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Parish Church, built in 1595 and enlarged between 1837 and 1844 by Alessandro Antonelli who added the two lateral aisles, the dome and the Santi Pacifico e Cristina Scurolo. Antonelli also refurbished the parsonage and built the De Medici Nursery School (1873-76), which were supposed to be linked to each other through a portico which should have led to the church too: an impressive ecclesiastic complex which included a high belfry tower. Just like in other cases, the project was partially completed because of the elevated costs it required. De Medici Nursery School is still considered one of Antonelli’s most successful, mature works, almost an architectural testament: a luminous structure in which lightness and formal sobriety compete in producing a functional result.

Proceed towards Oleggio, which soars north of the Ticino Valley (ol-esin, where the name Oleggio comes from, in Celtic means “hill-river”); once past the uphill road from where you can see the ruins of the Visconti walls, arrive in piazza Martiri, dominated by the medieval Torre (tower) del Bagliotti.

Just outside the square, towards the Ticino river, rises the Santi Pietro e Paolo Parish Church, fruit of a refurbishment carried out by Antonelli (1853-58) on the previous 17th century church.

From Oleggio, along via Dante, past the square of the train station and the level crossing, turn right towards the cemetery where the San Michele Basilica majestically stands. It is a late 10th century Romanesque edifice built with pebbles and bricks. The interior consists of three naves, a crypt and a raised presbytery and it is decorated with a

beautiful series of 11th century frescoes.

Proceeding on SP18A turn left and after 2,5 km cross Mezzomerico and proceed in the direction of Suno. Once crossed Agamo stream, the SP18 climbs the first slopes of the Colline Novaresi, revealing a panoramic view of Monte Rosa and the Alpine chain (its winding and away from traffic paths are perfect for cycling). Descend towards Montecchio and arrive in Suno from where, following the SP19 (via Pieve), you encounter San Genesio Church and then Vaprio d’Agogna, where you can join the SS229 (on the right). Following the state highway towards the south (if you take the left) you can visit the Santissima Trinità Oratory in Momo (39 km). Sacred site in Celtic times, the small temple was given its present aspect during Renaissance: it has one apse with a raised presbytery and a gabled roof. The interior is almost entirely covered with priceless frescoes dated 1520, attributed to the Cagnola brothers.

Back again on SS229 towards the north for 7,5 km; at the roundabout keep to the left directed towards Fontaneto d’Agogna; in piazza Castello rises San Sebastiano Oratory and different noble dwellings with lobbies, remnants of the Visconti castle. Following the Agogna stream for a while, arrive at the Parish Church where you can admire the Sant’Alessandro Scurolo (1850). The twelve columns which support the dome separate the circular space which is inspired by roman classic motifs. Its niches are decorated with terracotta statues. Once again cross Fontaneto following via XXV Aprile; once outside of the northern side

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of the village, follow via Amendola which passes under the motorway, then right onto via Enea which leads to SS142. On the opposite side take the SP31/A and reach Maggiora (57 km), nestled among the hills with the view of the Alps.

Alessandro Antonelli was born in Ghemme but his homeland is indeed Maggiora. This is where we find his paternal house, just a few steps from the Spirito Santo Baroque Church which the architect embellished by adding the Sant’Agapito Scurolo. The façade of the house appears as an anonymous wall made with bricks while the interior side, which faces the garden, is enlivened by different Antonellian elements - the portico, the colonnades, the ample windows, the predominance of structural motifs over the decorative ones – testifying the interventions carried out by the architect himself. The building consists of four floors, the last of which is equipped with an open loggia oriented towards Mount Fenera, probably built to avoid the curious glances of neighbours!

Antonelli also worked on the village’s cemetery, creating together with his son Costanzo the structure which surrounds the entrance (1887); its two sides present a double series of noble chapels (among which we find the architect’s family-grave where his corpse rests) and an elegant loggia.

From the cemetery follow the road that climbs towards Boca (59 km), which soars on a higher slope. Once at the village’s centre follow the SP32 towards Grignasco and visit the Sanctu-

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ary of Boca, which stands isolated at the foot of Mount Fenera. Here once stood the small Divino Crocifisso Chapel, decorated with a widely worshiped painting of an angel collecting the blood of Jesus. As the devotion kept on spreading, a new church was built but it proved to be insufficient to bear the great number of the faithful. This is why the present grandiose edifice was built, whose project was assigned to Alessandro Antonelli. Its construction took place between 1822 and 1917!

The Santissimo Crocifisso Sanctuary presents an impressive façade, embellished with a vast porch and a stairway. It was supposed to be equipped with guest rooms, oratories and dwellings along the sides of the courtyard as well as a more imposing church surmounted by a high steeple. Unfortunately the available finances could not permit such interventions; the structure went through numerous difficulties and modifications and its author never saw it completed.

Back to Boca, proceed directed towards Cavallirio and from there, back on SS142, reach Romagnano Sesia where, on Monte Cucco hillock, one can admire the white, neoclassic prospect of Villa Caccia. Antonelli completed it between 1842 and 1848 and it was meant to be the countryside residence of the Caccia Counts from Romentino. It was built where a Capuchin Convent once stood, inside a park of which Antonelli also designed the elegant entrance which leads to the borough (largo Antonelli). Today the villa houses the Bassa Valsesia Historic-Ethnographic Museum with its collections and its meticulously refurbished halls. Visit piazza Libertà, the heart of the town, embraced by porticos and historic buildings. The nearby San Silvano Church, decorated with an impressive belfry tower, is the result of three different reconstruction campaigns carried out on the previous Benedictine Abbey dated 1008, of which only the “Cantina dei Santi”, an 11th century basement used as a cellar, has survived, hidden by the surrounding edifices. It consists of a double portico and two halls: the one at the rear houses an archaeological collection while the second one is covered with a priceless series of 15th century frescoes depicting the episodes of the life of king David.

Leave behind you Romagnano following via Novara (SS299), at the first roundabout keep to the right (via S.Grato) and reach San Martino di Breclema Oratory, an 11th century Romanesque edifice which was part of the castrum of Breclema, the fortified village destroyed during the 14th century. Join again the SS299 along which stand dif-

SAINTS AND FARMHOUSES Cascina Agnelle, along the state highway which connects Novara to Valsesia. Below: sundial in Cascina Caccia. On the previous page: the Sant’Agapito Scurolo, created by Antonelli for the Spirito Santo Church in Maggiora.

ferent important outlets where you can purchase cashmere, knitwear, clothes, shoes and glasses.

Arrive in Ghemme (76 km) whose parish church houses one of Antonelli’s masterpieces, the round in plan Scurolo dedicated to Beata Panacea (1864-75), matron saint celebrated by the villagers on the first Friday of May. Visit the Ricetto di Ghemme, the fortified borough built by the local population between the 12th and 15th centuries.

The need to defend themselves from continuous plunderings which took place during the fights between Guelphs and Ghibellines led to the “birth” of this fort with no castle or master, which occupies a 12.000 sq.m estate, surrounded by walls crowned with merlons , a moat (which was later filled up with soil), two turrets placed at its north-west and south-west sides and an entrance-tower equipped with a drawbridge. The interior is crossed by alleys, courtyards and edifices built with pebbles and bricks, illuminated by lancet windows, framed with terracotta decorations.

South of Ghemme the SS299 crosses Sizzano, of which only the castle’s dwellings which embrace the parish church have survived, and Fara Novarese, which was protected by two castles during the 15th century: Castellone which has preserved its tower, today embraced by the countryside edifice which dominates the village and Castello, today seat of a clinic, surrounded by a vast park. Briona, one of the most remote wine-towns of the province, lies where the hills make space for the plain, populated by paddy

fields and big farmhouses such as Cascina Agnelle, which rises more to the south, on the right side of the state highway. Passing under the motorway in proximity to Agognate, arrive in Novara (100 km); cross the centre following the road that leads to “Pavia” and “Mortara”, up to the end of corso XXIII Marzo. Take the SS211 which winds outside of the city, through the paddies, towards Garbagna Novarese, Nibbiola, with its 15th century castle built with bricks, Vespolate, where you can admire the high, refurbished turret of its castle and arrive at Borgolavezzaro, whose centre is concentrated around Santi Bartolomeo e Gaudenzio Church. Built by Antonelli and completed in 1862, it is a great sample of neoclassical architecture: it is equipped with a porch held by big columns and Corinthian capitals, a pediment decorated with a circular niche and angelic figures and a single nave with a double colonnade which supports the round vault.

Opposite the parish church you can follow via Ruva (towards Nicorvo) and at the first curve turn left onto the unpaved road to visit Campo della Ghina, safeguarded by the Burchvif Association which aims to reproduce the small habitats which once populated the Padana plain. Along the road that leads to Nicorvo rises Cascina Caccia, one of the biggest and most beautiful farmhouses of the southern side of the Province, which still produces rice. The second floor houses a dormitory where the mondine (the women who worked in the paddies) used to sleep.

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Where to sleep Cureggio: Agriturismo La Capuccina, via Novara 19/b, Loc. La Capuccina, tel. +39.0322.839930, www.lacapuccina.it, open from Thursday to Saturday and Sunday at lunchtime; double room breakfast included 75 e, just dinner 26/28 e, half-board treatment 120 e; ancient convent transformed into a farmhouse, which produces honey, vegetables, fruits, jams, marmalades, cheeses and cold cuts; local, traditional cuisine. Novara: Hotel Cavour****, via S. Francesco d’Assisi 6, tel. +39.0321.659889, www. panciolihotels.it; double room breakfast included 190 e. Tornaco (2 km from Borgolavezzaro): Agriturismo Vignarello, via Barbavara 2, Loc. Vignarello, tel. +39.0321.846606, www. vignarello.it; double room breakfast included 80 e, cost per meal 10/20 e; housed in a traditional farmhouse, it grows berries, officinal plants, jams and herbal products, rice and honey, while it proposes “personalised wellness sojourns”; the restaurant is open from Thursday to Sunday offering tastings (10 e) and traditional Piedmont dishes (20 e).

Campervan sites Novara: Camper Service (facilities), Agip Service Area, corso Trieste 62, tel. +39.0322.692174, at 850 m. from the ring-road which connects the SS11 which leads to Milan to the SS32 directed towards Lake Maggiore, near the city centre, free water supply when the gas station is open; Camper Service (facilities), Fina Service Area, corso XXII Marzo 1848 n. 482, Location: Bicocca.

Where to eat Bellinzago Novarese: La Crusa dal Ga, via Don Minzoni 48, tel. +39.0321.987708, closed on Tuesday, 35 e; local, season dishes.

Boca: Osteria Ori Pari, via Partigiani 9, tel.

What to eat Among the risottos stands out the paniscia (in the picture below, the one prepared at Impero) whose name recalls another cereal, the millet (or better the panìco, which is similar to the millet) which once substituted rice. The ingredients, personalised by each cook, are: Carnaroli rice, pinto beans, cabbage, salam d’la duja, lardo, pork skin, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, Colline Novaresi red wine, oil, salt and pepper. Less elaborate are the risottos with Ghemme wine, the one prepared with beans or the one with frogs. Salam d’la duja is the king of cold cuts; it is stuffed with fatless pork meat, lardo and bacon, savoured with salt, pepper, spices, garlic and wine, preserved in pork fat and kept inside terracotta pots known as duje. Marzapane is

What to purchase Rice: Cremona Renzo, Giampiero and Sergio, Cascina Caccia, Borgolavezzaro, tel. +39.0321.885307; Crespiriso, via Fungo 90, Fraz. Nibbia, San Pietro Mosezzo, tel. +39.0321.57216, always open: 8 varieties of rice, ready risottos, rice pasta and rice biscuits; Riso Fossati, via Tornielli 1, Briona, tel. +39.0321.826285, always open: over 10 varieties of rice, such as Carnaroli, Arborio, Roma, Venere whole rice, Red whole rice. Cold Cuts: Salumificio Dessilani Antonio, via Roma 74/B, Fara Novarese, tel. +39.0321.829549, closed on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday: salam d’la duja, fegatino della duja, lardo with Nebbiolo, salami, cooked salami. Azienda Agricola Valsesia, via Fiume Sesia 2/C, Sillavengo,

tel. +39.0321.825246, closed on Sunday and Monday: homemade salami. Sweets: Pasticceria Delponte, via Matteotti 68, Suno, tel. +39.0322.858059, closed on Saturday afternoon and on Monday: brutti ma buoni, ossa da mordere, panettone and colomba; Pasticceria Prolo, via Quintino Sella 3, Fara Novarese, tel. +39.0321.829241, closed on Monday: baci di Fara (baked with almonds, hazelnuts and cocoa, stuffed with chocolate), boeri, panettone, pandoro and colomba; Pasticceria Giorgio, via Roma 26, Ghemme, tel. +39.0163.841112, closed on Monday: biscotti al Ghemme Docg, rice biscuits, beatine. Pasticceria Agarla, corso Garibaldi 34, Romagnano Sesia, tel. +39.0163.833462: traditional desserts such as busarola. Spirits: Francoli Centre, via Romagnano 69/B, Ghemme, tel. +39.0163.841320, closed on Tuesday: grappa, liquors, distillates and wines, tastings (on request it is possible to visit the Francoli Distillery and the Brandy and Liquor International Library). Iron objects: Claudio Serra (picture above), via Trieste 1, Borgolavezzaro, tel. +39.0321.885757 / +39.347.7110343; the artist is famous for his flying silhouettes.

What to see Churches built by Alessandro Antonelli: the churches already cited in the text and included in the itinerary are usually open. Novara: San Gaudenzio’s Dome, guided visits are organised during weekends (Friday-Sunday) in spring and summertime. For information contact the ATL of Novara. Oleggio: San Michele Basilica, timetable: 8.00-11.45 and 13.3017.15 (more flexible in summertime). Romagnano Sesia: Villa Caccia, seat of the Bassa Valsesia Historic-Ethnographic Museum, viale Antonelli 1, tel. +39.0163.827237, open on Saturday and Sunday (14.30-18.30); schools and groups on request, on Thursday 9.00-12.00.

You can contact the museum to visit the Cantina dei Santi.

BLOCKNOTES

How to arrive Novara is situated south of the A4 Milano-Torino motorway, served by the Novara Est and Novara Ovest exits. It is 36 km away from Milan and 82 km from Turin. In addition, Novara rises along the Milan-Turin railway line.

prepared with breadcrumbs, pork blood, spices and red wine while the fidighina consists of a small liver bologna. Pork is also used for the preparation of other two dishes: the rustida and the cassoeula. The first dish is prepared with browned onions, heart, lungs, sausages, loin (sometimes even liver) and tomato sauce.

The latter is cousin to the famous Lombard dish though it is prepared with goose. Minced donkey meat (though today substituted for beef) is the main ingredient of the tapulone: it requires a slow browning of oil and butter, garlic, lardo, clove, laurel, rosemary, aromatic herbs, cabbage, red wine and broth. Other traditional recipes include the Novara-style fried dish, which consists of a fried part prepared with macaroons, semolina and fried fruits (mostly apples) and a part of stewed meats: pork loin, culatello and sausages (instead of lungs), cooked with onions and white wine; the pollanca, boned, stuffed chicken; the roasted duck, stuffed with meat, spices, risotto and eggs. Among the desserts we find the biscottini di Novara; ossa da mordere (“bones for biting”); brutti ma buoni (“ugly but tasty”); baci di Fara; biscotti al Ghemme Docg and beatine di Ghemme in honour of Beata Panacea. Finally we could not omit to mention the Gorgonzola Dop. After a 4-week maturation the cheese (produced with unskimmed cow milk, lactic ferments, curdle and mould spores) is pierced by metal rods, creating air channels that allow the development of penicillium glaucum, the mould responsible for the creation of the blue/greenish veins. Gorgonzola is available in the variances sweet (dolce) and spicy (piccante).

PIEDMONT NOVARA AND ITS PROVINCE

BLOCKNOTES PIEDMONT NOVARA AND ITS PROVINCE 14

Duration: one weekend When: all the year round

+39.0322.87961, closed on Tuesday, 35 e; familiar environment where to savour the local cuisine, prepared with selected ingredients.

Borgolavezzaro: Trattoria Astigiana Da Ernesto, via Cavour 13, tel. +39.0321.885294, closed on Monday, 20 e; familiar environment where to taste traditional recipes. Ghemme: Al Gufo Nero, via Novara 162, tel. +39.0163.840251, closed on Tuesday, 25 e; cute and informal; it proposes the traditional Piedmont cuisine and the local Novara recipes: paniscia, agnolotti, braised donkey meat, boiled meat, hare, mushrooms. Novara: Trattoria San Marco, via Negroni 3, tel. +39.0321.659802, closed on Saturday at lunchtime, 35 e. Oleggio: Osteria il Gatto e la Volpe, via Nebulina 22, tel. +39.0321.998256, closed on Saturday at dinnertime and on Sunday, 30 e; vivacious and cosy environment, a traditional cuisine served with a vast range of wines. Romagnano Sesia: Alla Torre, via I Maggio 75, tel. +39.0163.826411, closed on Monday, 35 e; original environment (housed in a medieval tower) and local traditional dishes. Sizzano: Impero, via Roma 13, tel. +39.0321.820576, closed on Sunday at dinnertime and on Monday, 35 e; simple and elegant it welcomes its guests in a cosy and cute environment; the cuisine is bond to the traditional savours though the dishes don’t lack in creativity, lightness or innovation; season menus respecting the territory, great starters, irresistible paniscia, pollanca and the traditional fried dish, excellent desserts prepared by chef Paola.

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Estratto dal n° 184 del mensile ITINERARI e luoghi

LOCAL TOURIST BOARD OF THE PROVINCE OF NOVARA Baluardo Quintino Sella, 40 – 28100 Novara Tel. +39.0321.394059 - Fax +39.0321.631063 info@turismonovara.it - www.turismonovara.it