Novara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 102,862 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin and it is the second urban area of the Region Piedmont with 190,000 inhabitants. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin and from Genoa to Switzerland. Novara lies between the rivers Agogna and Terdoppio in northeastern Piedmont, 38 km from Milan and 95 km from Turin.
Aria, the name the Cisalpine Gauls used for the surrounding region.
Ancient Novaria, which dates to the time of the Ligures, was a municipium and was situated on the road from Vercellae (Vercelli) to Mediolanum (Milan). Its position on perpendicular roads (still intact today) dates to the time of the Romans. After the city was destroyed in 386 by Magnus Maximus for having supported his rival Valentinian II, it was rebuilt by Theodosius I. Subsequently, it was sacked by Radagaisus (in 405) and Attila (in 452).
In 1706 Novara, which had long ago been promised by Filippo Maria Visconti to Amadeus VIII of Savoy, was occupied by Savoyard troops. With the Peace of Utrecht, the city, together with Milan, became part of the Habsburg Empire. After its occupation in 1734, Novara passed, in the following year, to the House of Savoy.
A decree in 1859 created the province of Novara, which then included the present-day provinces of Vercelli, Biella, and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.
Probably the most notable Novarese of modern times is Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, former president of Italy and Italian senator for life. Scalfaro was born in Novara in 1918
Historic centre
Barriera Albertina, a complex of two neo-classical buildings that constituted the gate of entry to the city, the required passageway for those who traveled from Turin to Milan. After their removal, the walls were replaced by the present-day baluardi, the broad, tree-lined boulevards that surround the Historic Centre.
The cupola of the
Basilica of San Gaudenzio, symbol of Novara, is 121 metres in height.
The most imposing monument in the city is the Basilica of San Gaudenzio, with a cupola 121 metres in height, designed by Alessandro Antonelli and constructed in 1888. The bell tower is also of particular interest; it was designed by Benedetto Alfieri, uncle of the more famous Vittorio Alfieri.
Close to the Duomo is the courtyard of the Broletto (the historic meeting place of the city council), the centre of the political life of the imperial free city of Novara. Overlooking the courtyard of the Broletto are the Palazzo del Podestà (\"Palace of the Podestà\"), Palazzetto dei Paratici (\"Little Palace of the Paratici Family\"), site of the Civic Museum and of the Gallery of Modern Art, the Palace of the City Council, and a building of the 15th century.
In Piazza Giacomo Matteotti stands the Palazzo Natta-Isola, seat of the province and of the prefecture of Novara. The landmark feature of this palace is its clock tower. Extending from this square is the via Fratelli Rosselli, along which is the Palazzo Cabrino, the official seat of the administrative offices of the city. As it was a Roman city, the street network of Novara is characterized by a cardo and a Decumanus Maximus, which correspond respectively to the present-day Corso Italia and Corso Cavour. The two streets cross at the so-called \"Angolo delle Ore\" (Corner of the Hours).
Chiesa del Sacro Cuore, or Sacred Heart Church, Novara.
Places of interest situated outside of the belt of the baluardi include the Church of San Nazzaro della Costa, with its attached abbey, restored in the 1400s by Bernardino of Siena, and the Ossuary of Bicocca, in pyramidal form, which stands in the neighbourhood of Bicocca, in memory of the fallen soldiers of the historic battle of 23 March 1849 between the Piedmontese (Sardinia) and Austrians. Worthy of note are the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Saints Martino and Gaudenzio), built beginning in 1477 by the Augustinians, whose interior consists of a single nave with lateral chapels and paintings attributed to artists of the 15th century, among them Daniele de Bosis
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