Novara (; Novarese: ) is the capital city of the

province of Novara The province of Novara () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Novara. In 1992, the new province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola was created through the fusion of three geographical areas whic ...

in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region in northwest

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, to the west of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin and from

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Novara lies between the streams

Agogna The Agogna (in Piedmontese ''Agògna'') is a stream which runs through the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. It is a left side tributary of the river Po.''The Times'' (2003), ''Comprehensive Atlas of the World'', 11th edition, Times B ...

and Terdoppio in northeastern Piedmont, from Milan and from Turin. It is only distant from the river

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

, which marks the border with

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

region.

History

Novara was founded around 89 BC by the Romans, when the local

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

s obtained Roman citizenship. Its name is formed from ''Nov'', meaning "new", and ''Aria'', the name the

Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul (, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the name given, especially during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, to a region of land inhabited by Celts (Gauls), corresponding to what is now most of northern Italy. Afte ...

s used for the surrounding region. Ancient ''Novaria'', which dates to the time of the

Ligures The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day Northern Italy, north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celts, Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in anti ...

and the

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

, was a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

and was situated on the road from Vercellae (

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

) to (

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy. The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...

) 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 Magnus Maximus (; died 28 August 388) was Roman emperor in the West from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian. Born in Gallaecia, he served as an officer in Britain under Theodosius the Elder during the Great Conspiracy ...

for having supported his rival

Valentinian II Valentinian II (; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman Empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his half-brother, then was sidelined by a usurper, and finally became sole ruler after 388, ...

, it was rebuilt by

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

. Subsequently, it was sacked by

Radagaisus Radagaisus (died 23 August 406) was a Gothic king who led an invasion of Roman Italy in late 405 and the first half of 406.Peter Heather, ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians'', 2nd ed. 2006:194; A committed p ...

(in 405) and

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

(in 452). Under the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, Novara became a

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

; under

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

, a countship. Novara came to enjoy the rights of a free imperial city. In 1110, it was conquered by Henry V and destroyed, but in 1167 it joined the

Lombard League The Lombard League (; ) was an alliance of cities formed in 1167, and supported by the popes, to counter the attempts by the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman emperors to establish direct royal administrative control over the cities of the Kingdom of It ...

. At the end of the 12th century, it accepted the protection of

and became practically a dominion of the Visconti and later of the

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ...

. In the Battle of Novara in 1513, Swiss mercenaries defending Novara for the Sforzas of Milan routed the French troops besieging the city. This defeat ended the French invasion of Italy in the

War of the League of Cambrai The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...

. In 1706, Novara, which had long ago been promised by

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan from 1412 to 1447. Reports stated that he was "paranoid", but "shrewd as a ruler." He went to war in the 1420s with Romagna, Republic of Florenc ...

to Amadeus VIII of Savoy, was occupied by Savoyard troops. With the

Peace of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

, 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 The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

After

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's campaign in Italy, Novara became the capital of the Department of the Agogna, but was then reassigned to the House of Savoy in 1814. In 1821, it was the site of a battle in which regular Sardinian troops defeated the Piedmontese constitutional liberals. In the even larger Battle of Novara in 1849, the Sardinian army was defeated by the Austrian army of Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. This defeat led to the abdication of

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state from 27 April 1831 until his abdication in 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constit ...

and to the partial occupation of the city by the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

ns. The defeat of the

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

ns can be seen as the beginning of the

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

movement. A decree in 1859 created the province of Novara, which then included the present-day provinces of

Biella Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...

, and

Verbano-Cusio-Ossola The province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (, ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previously been part of the province of Novara. The ar ...

. The city of Novara had a population of 25,144 in 1861. Industrialisation during the 20th century brought an increase in the city's population to 102,088 in 1981. The city's population has changed little in subsequent years.

Oscar Luigi Scalfaro Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (; 9 September 1918 – 29 January 2012) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 1992 to 1999. A member of Christian Democracy (DC), he became an independent politician after the DC's dissolution in 1 ...

, former

president of Italy The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Politics of Italy, Italian politics comply with the Consti ...

and Italian senator for life, was born in Novara in 1918. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Stalag 365 German prisoner-of-war camp was relocated from Włodzimierz in German-occupied Poland to Novara in September 1943. It held Italian POWs, and was dissolved in March 1944. The city was the set for the 1971 film " The Working Class Goes to Heaven" by Elio Petri; the film was presented at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

and has won multiple awards; its soundtrack was composed by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

, who also appears in a cameo.

Climate

Architecture

Novara's sights can be divided into two groupings. The city's most important sights lie within its historic centre, the area once enclosed by the city walls. However, several important sights also lie outside the line of the former city walls. Novara has numerous churches and historic buildings; some of these have been restored over the years. The most significant architectural element is the majestic dome, 121 metres high, designed by the architect-engineer

Alessandro Antonelli Alessandro Antonelli (July 14, 1798 – October 18, 1888) was an Italian architect of the 19th century. He was the most prominent Neoclassicism, Neoclassical 19th-century architect in Piedmont, with a long and prolific career that included design ...

. Now known as the

Basilica of San Gaudenzio The Basilica of San Gaudenzio is a church in Novara, Italy. It is the highest point in the city. It is dedicated to Gaudentius of Novara, first Christian bishop of the city. History The first church dedicated to the saint existed near the curre ...

, it was built in 1888. It has now become a symbol of the city and a distinctive sign of its panorama, observable from all the roads that lead to the city. The bell tower is also of particular interest; it was designed by

Benedetto Alfieri 180px, Benedetto Alfieri from the treatise of "Leben des Vittorio Alfieri" Benedetto Innocenzo Alfieri (8 June 1699 - 9 December 1767) was an Italian architect, a representative of the late-Baroque or Rococo style. Biography and works Born in R ...

, uncle of the more famous

Vittorio Alfieri Count Vittorio Amedeo Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italians, Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography. Early l ...

Historic centre

The old urban core makes up the "Historic centre", situated in the district of the same name. Novara once had an encircling wall, which was demolished to permit urban development. Of the old wall, there remains only the ''Barriera Albertina'', a complex of two neo-classical buildings that constituted the gate of entry to the city, the required passageway for those who travelled 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 centre of the religious life of the city is the

Novara Cathedral Novara Cathedral ( or ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, located at the Piazza della Repubblica in Novara, Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont, Italy. It is the seat of the ...

, in the neo-classical style, also designed by Alessandro Antonelli. It rises exactly where the temple of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

stood in the time of the Romans. Facing the Duomo is the oldest building in Novara today: the early Christian ''Battistero'' (Baptistry). Close to the Duomo is the courtyard of the ''

Broletto A ''broletto'' in Italy in the Middle Ages, medieval Italy communes was the place where the whole population met for democratic assemblies, and where the elected men lived and administered justice. ''Broletto'' is an ancient Italian language, It ...

'' (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 (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

"), ''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. Not far from the Piazza della Repubblica (formerly Piazza Duomo) is the Piazza Cesare Battisti (known to Novaresi as the ''Piazza delle Erbe'', "Herbs square"), which constitutes the exact centre of the city of Novara. 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 A ''cardo'' (: ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Rome, ancient Roman cities and military castra, camps as an integral component of Urban planning, city planning. The ''cardo maximus'', or most often the ''cardo'', was the main ...

and a

Decumanus Maximus In Roman urban planning, a ''decumanus'' was an east–west-oriented road in a Roman city or '' castrum'' (military camp). The main ''decumanus'' of a particular city was the ''decumanus maximus'', or most often simply "the ''decumanus''". In t ...

, which correspond respectively to the present-day Corso Cavour and Corso Italia. The two streets cross at the so-called "Angolo delle Ore" (Corner of the Hours). The city conservatory, Conservatorio Guido Cantelli, named after Novara's Guido Cantelli, is located in via Collegio Gallarini, 1 (facing largo Luigi Sante Colonna in the area between piazza Puccini and Novara's hospital). The conservatory, founded in 1996, was established in a building built in the 1700s, once known as the ''casone''. In 1766, the building, after a donation from the Gallarini family, started to be used as a college. Between 1854 and 1905, several artistic features, such as coloured tiles and terracotta decorations on the facade were added. The largest square is Piazza Martiri della Libertà (formerly Piazza Castello) dominated by the equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy. Overlooking the Piazza Martiri is the ''Castello Visconteo-Sforzesco'', built by the Milanese dukes Visconti and

, and the Teatro Coccia. The Castello Visconteo-Sforzesco, once much larger than the complex that remains today, is surrounded by the ''Allea'', one of the largest public gardens in Novara. Other important squares are: *Largo Cavour, dominated by the statue of Cavour, recently restored. *Piazza Garibaldi, the square facing the Novara Railway Station, also recently restored and featuring the statue of the hero of two worlds and a fountain with the statue of a mondina. *Piazza Gramsci, formerly Piazza del Rosario, location, after the restoration of 2005, of the landmark statue of Icarus. Novara san gaudenzio.jpg, The cupola of the

, symbol of Novara, is high. Novara Duomo2.jpg, Novara Cathedral Novara Broletto.jpg, The Broletto

Outside the ''Baluardi''

Places of interest situated outside the belt of the ''baluardi'' include the Church of San Nazzaro della Costa, with its attached abbey, restored in the 15th century by

Bernardino of Siena Bernardino of Siena, Order of Friars Minor, OFM (Bernardine or Bernadine; 8 September 138020 May 1444), was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in Italy. He was a systematizer of Scholasticism, ...

, 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.

Religious buildings

*Chiesa di Ognissanti (12th century) *Santa Maria delle Grazie, also known as San Martino (15th century) *San Pietro al Rosario (1599–1618) *San Marco (17th century) *Oratory of San Giovanni Decollato (17th century) *Santa Maria della Salute (17th century) *Sant'Eufemia (17th century) *Chiesa del Carmine (18th to 19th centuries) *Nuova Chiesa di San Rocco (21st century)

Festivals and events

* 22 January: Novara celebrates annually the Feast of San Gaudenzio (Saint Gaudentius of Novara), the patron saint of Novara. Throughout the day, it is possible to visit the tomb of the saint and to obtain the typical roasted chestnuts, also known as ''marroni di Cuneo'' ("Cuneo chestnuts"). * 23 March: Re-enactment of the 1849 Battle of Novara, with period uniforms and weapons. * On 25 April, Liberation Day, as in many other Italian cities, the Novaresi organise numerous initiatives to commemorate the

Italian resistance movement The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy ...

, and in particular, the partisans who fought around Novara and in the "Partisan Republic of the Ossola". * Since 2001, ''Giovani Espressioni'' ("Young Expressions") has been held in Novara. This is a music festival for emerging young musicians, organised by Staff Millennium, a performance agency, of which Alessandro Marchetti is the artistic director. The "Espressioni Contest" is of special importance as a showcase for emerging bands that picks a winner every year. Among the noted artists who have participated are Negramaro, Caparezza, Finley, Vallanzaska, Extrema, and Blaze Bailey. * Since 2005, Novara has hosted the "Novara Gospel Festival", which is composed of workshops, local tours, and obviously gospel concerts in the main theatre of the city. It is probably one of the most important festivals of this music in Italy, also because the main event is a concert of the most appreciated gospel singers, such as Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, etc. * Circolando, a contemporary theatre and circus festival organised in collaboration with LaRibalta association featuring performances from live music to acrobatics. * Fuori Novara, started in 2023, brings art to peripheral areas of the city. * Nebulosa festival, started in 2024, brings international live music to the city.

Demographics

In 2007, there were 102,862 people residing in Novara, of whom 49% were male and 51% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 16.35% of the population compared to pensioners who number 21.6%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (pensioners). The average age of Novara residents is 44 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Novara grew by 1.64%, while

as a whole grew by 3.85%. The birth rate in Novara is 9.15 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. In 2006, 92.37% of the population was

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. The largest immigrant group comes from other

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an nations: 2.94%,

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

: 2.23%, and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

: 0.71%. Like most of Italy, Novara is predominantly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Economy

Novara is a logistics and commercial centre in the northwestern part of the

Padan plain The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

and is the seat of the Centro Intermodale Merci (CIM: Goods Intermodal Centre). Economically, it is affected by the proximity of Milan, and in fact, many Milanese firms have offices in Novara. The main economic products and services are: *agriculture: rice and maize *food products *metallurgical production *chemicals and petrochemicals *pharmaceuticals *intermodal commerce and logistics *rice products exchange *banking and insurance services Novara is home of the publishing company

De Agostini De Agostini S.p.A. is an Italian holding company that coordinates the strategic operating companies De Agostini Editore, De Agostini Communications, International Game Technology, IGT, and DeA Capital, and makes financial investments, among w ...

, which has been active in geographic and other publishing since 1901.

Transport

The local public transport agency is the SUN. Novara vista cropped

Railways

The city is served by three railway stations: *Vignale FS, a small station operated by the

Ferrovie dello Stato Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. (; ; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the initialism FS) is Italy's national state-owned enterprise, state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estate service ...

(regional trains) * Novara FS, the principal station of the Ferrovie dello Stato, Italy's national railway (regional, national and international trains). *Novara Nord, the station operated by the LeNord railroad. The new station in via Leonardo da Vinci opened in 2005 (regional and high-speed trains (only 2006) trains).

Motorways and main roads

Novara is linked to Turin and Milan by the A4 motorway (via the junctions Novara Ovest and Novara Est). The A26 motorway crosses most of Novara province, but there is not a junction that links it directly with Novara. To reach Novara from the A26, one must exit at Vercelli Est, but one can also reach Novara by way of the A4, which crosses the A26 at a junction. Novara is served by a system of dual-carriageway bypasses. The oldest such bypass is the Tangenziale Est, directly linked with the motorway junction Novara Est. In 2003, road works were completed on the Tangenziale Sud. The S11 trunk road from Milan and

Magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...

passes through Novara on its way to

and Turin. Trunk roads to the north and south also link Novara to the motorway network.

Sports

Novara FC is an association football club based in Novara. There is a professional women's Serie A1 volleyball team, Igor Novara Volley. There was an important baseball team and a very important Hockey team.

Government

The current mayor of Novara is

Alessandro Canelli Alessandro Canelli (born 9 June 1971 in Novara) is an Italian politician. He is a member of the right-wing populist party Lega Nord Lega Nord (LN; ), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing politics, right-wing, federalism, federalist, ...

, elected in June 2016 and confirmed in October 2021, representing a coalition between traditional right-wing parties such as

Forza Italia (FI; ) was a centre-right liberal-conservative political party in Italy, with Christian democratic,Chiara Moroni, , Carocci, Rome 2008 liberalOreste Massari, ''I partiti politici nelle democrazie contempoiranee'', Laterza, Rome-Bari 2004 (esp ...

and the new far-right composed by

Lega (political party) Lega (), whose official name is Lega per Salvini Premier (, LSP or LpSP), is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Italy, led by Matteo Salvini. The LSP is the informal successor of Lega Nord (, LN). The LSP was establi ...

and

Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy (, FdI) is a National conservatism, national-conservative and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Italy, that is currently the country's ruling party. After becoming the largest party in the 2022 Ita ...

Administrative subdivisions

Novara is divided into thirteen wards ('' circoscrizioni''); several of these are formed of a number of quarters ('' quartieri''), zones, and/or ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

''. According to changes in local electoral laws, from June 2011 elections, they were stripped of their elective bodies (council and president), thus remaining as a simple internal partition of the

Comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

. *Centro (Historic Centre) *Nord est (North East) **Sant’Andrea (''quartiere'') **San Rocco (''quartiere'') *Nord (North) **Sant’Antonio (''quartiere'') **Vignale (''frazione'') **Veveri (''frazione'') *Sant’Agabio *Porta Mortara *Sacro Cuore *San Martino *Santa Rita *Ovest (West) **San Paolo (''quartiere'') **Zona Agogna (zone) *Sud (South) **Cittadella (''quartiere'') **Rizzotaglia (''quartiere'') **Villagio Dalmazia (''quartiere'') **Torrion Quartara (''frazione'') *Sud est (South East) **Bicocca (''quartiere'') **Olengo (''frazione'') *Lumellogno **

Lumellogno Lumellogno is a settlement of some 1,500 peopleAt the end of 2006 the population of the quarter was tallied at 1521, source: to the south-west of the city of Novara in the Italian province Piedmont. Administratively it is a quarter (''quartiere'' ...

(''frazione'') **Casalgiate (''frazione'') **Pagliate (''frazione'') **Gionzana (''frazione'') *Pernate

People

(1798–1888), architect * Gianni Bettini (1860–1938), inventor * Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia (1915–1944), aviator *

Gaspare Campari Gaspare Campari (12 March 1828 – 14 April 1882) was an Italian drinks manufacturer. Born in Cassolnovo, Italy,Felice Casorati (1883–1963), painter * Marchesa Colombi (1840–1920), writer * Enzo Emanuele (born 1977), medical researcher * Gaudenzio Ferrari (), painter * Domenico Fioravanti (born 1977), swimmer * Vittorio Gregotti (1927–2020), architect * Isabella Leonarda (1620–1704), composer * Matias Masucci, actor and director * Mario Miltone (born 1906), football player * Roberto Passarin (1934–1982), football player *

Silvio Piola Silvio Piola (; 29 September 1913 – 4 October 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set, and he is regarded as one of the ...

(1913–1996), football player *

Riccardo Rattazzi Riccardo Rattazzi (born 1964) is an Italian theoretical physicist and a professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. His main research interests are in physics beyond the Standard Model and in cosmology. Career Rattazzi studi ...

(born 1964), physicist * Giuseppe Ravizza (1811–1885), inventor *

(1918–2012), former President of the Italian Republic * Sergio Tacchini (born 1938), tennis player and fashion designer of sportswear * Tommaso Tommasina (1855–1935), painter

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Novara is twinned with: *

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectu ...

, France, since 1970 *

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, Germany, since 1991

References

Bibliography

External links

Comune di Novara, city government website

Turismo Novara (tourist office)
{{Authority control Castles in Italy Cities and towns in Piedmont