Easy hikes and walks in Riserva Naturale Speciale E Orientata Palude Di Casalbeltrame

Small and enchanting church with a beautiful cloister inside

Palazzo Natta is an ancient historical-noble palace in the city of Novara, in Piedmont. Today it houses the Province of Novara and the prefecture. In the place, already in Roman times near the Cardo (corresponding to the Cavour and Mazzini courses) and the Decumanus (corresponding to the Cavallotti and Italia courses), there was the aristocratic district of the city in the Middle Ages, called Contrada delle torri lunghe. Around the 13th century the Counts Caccia di Mandello and Castellazzo, a noble and ancient family from Novara, built their residence there, of which the civic tower with the clock is preserved today; documented as early as 1268 and called Torre grande. Later the building was acquired by the Natta d'Alfiano and Natta Isola di Casale families, who rebuilt and enlarged it between the 16th and 18th centuries. The main project of 1580 is attributed to the famous architect Pellegrino Tibaldi, who composed a square-plan palace centered on the internal porticoed courtyard and with a rear garden aligned perspectively on the main axis of the building. The courtyard, surrounded by a portico on Doric columns, has a compass rose made with river pebbles on the pavement, also repeated in the garden. A monumental staircase leads to the first floor, where the rooms are decorated with frescoes by the painter De Giorgi. After the unification of Italy, the palace was raised by one floor and the two final ramps were added to the staircase. The garden, restored in 1998, is centered on a fountain in pink Baveno marble and is closed by an eighteenth-century exedra in rocaille style that frames a trompe-l'œil. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Natta

The Broletto of Novara is a medieval architectural complex consisting of four historic buildings, built in different periods and with distinct and disparate artistic styles, arranged in a quadrangle around a central courtyard (or "arengo"). Located in the city center, a short distance from the Cathedral, it is accessible through an archway from Piazza della Repubblica (to the south) and a second archway from Corso Italia (to the north). The Broletto was originally an enclosed courtyard in the heart of the city, where commerce and various public activities took place. The construction of the assembly and judicial buildings dates back to the period immediately after the Peace of Constance (1183), as was the case in several Lombard cities. The exact date of construction is unknown, but the first references to the complex in historical documents date back to 1208, in the expressions "in broreto comunis novarie" and "sub palacio comunis." Excavations during restoration work in the 20th century also confirmed that the complex was built on pre-existing buildings. This was confirmed by the discovery of sections of wall and mosaic floors from the Roman period. From the mid-16th century onwards, neglect led to a progressive deterioration of the complex. It was not until the 19th century that the first tentative restoration measures were undertaken. At the end of the 1920s, a restoration project was carried out in various areas in Novara to restore its original appearance. In this context, the architect Giovanni Lazanio oversaw the restoration of the Broletto, which had been subject to various degrading interventions in previous centuries, particularly in the 19th century by the engineers Luigi Orelli and Stefano Ignazio Melchioni [ 6 ] : the single-lancet windows of the Palazzo del Podestà, the triple-lancet windows of the Salone dell'Arengo, and the walled-up porticoes of the courtyard were reopened. The fountain and the external staircase leading to the Arengo, demolished in the 18th century, were rebuilt, and the courtyard was cleared of superfluous elements, including a large urinal and the newsstand. The Broletto complex reopened to the public in March 2011, on the occasion of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, after a restoration project lasting over two years. The complex now houses a Modern Art Gallery and hosts temporary exhibitions and presentations. In summer, there is also an open-air cinema. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broletto_(Novara)

The church of San Marco is a Catholic place of worship in the city of Novara, in Piedmont. With its sumptuous interior, it represents a good example of the Baroque. The church was founded in 1607 at the behest of Bishop Carlo Bascapè, former secretary of Carlo Borromeo, on the site of a pre-existing small oratory called San Marchino. The project seems to be by the architect and Barnabite father Lorenzo Binago who conceived a building with a Latin cross plan, a single nave with six side chapels and a rectangular dome. He erected it by 1617. In 1634 the convent was added to the church, Bascapè's intention was in fact to establish a college of higher studies for the Clerics Regular of San Paolo in Novara. The building was completed and consecrated only in 1691 when it was assigned to the Barnabite Fathers. The interior features a sumptuous baroque decoration made using red marble, statuary porphyry, patinated wood, gilding and stucco. The frescoes on the vault of the apse and the dome depict God the Father blessing and the Glory of St. John the Evangelist; in the vaults the Evangelists and the Sibyls. Works carried out between 1613 and 1615 by Moncalvo Bascapé's attention initially turned to the chapel dedicated to San Carlo, one of the earliest dedicated to the saint canonized in 1610 together with that of the Church of San Paolo Converso in Milan of the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul. The task of the decoration should have been assigned to Cerano, however, already busy in Milan, so Guglielmo Caccia was chosen. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiesa_di_San_Marco_(Novara)

The Barriera Albertina was a customs barrier of the city of Novara. Today (2021) it hosts cultural, social and artistic exhibitions and conferences. The two buildings have a square plan, with a single floor, with a flat roof. The facades have a hexastyle pronaos of the Doric order, surmounted by a tympanum. The external walls are characterized by a smooth ashlar, interrupted by simple Doric pilasters, which intersperse the architraved windows. The appearance is sober and essential, measured in proportions, aligned with neoclassical canons. The sculptural decoration was entrusted to Giuseppe Argenti, a member of the school of Pompeo Marchesi, author in turn of the statue of Carlo Emanuele III in via Puccini. Argenti chose the subjects according to the indications of the historian Francesco Antonio Bianchini, to cover the building with significant figures and reliefs. On the tympanum of the two pronaos was placed a relief with two female figures, symmetrical, holding the royal and city insignia: this represents the close relationship between the Savoy interventions and urban development. On the sides of the vestibule, on the main facades, are the personifications of Royal Charity, Gratitude, Agriculture and Commerce. Initially there were also two statues placed on the supporting pillars of the wrought iron gate: the representations of Concord and Vigilance. In the upper part of the western façade of each building are the following inscriptions, both designed by the historian Francesco Antonio Bianchini: KAROLO ALBERTO REGI NOSTRO PATRI P. on the north building, O.P.Q. NOVARIENSIS MDCCCXXXVII D.D. on the south building. The gate was designed by the artist Pelagio Palagi, already author of the gate of the Royal Palace in Turin. Later it was, together with the two statues, moved to the monument to Carlo Alberto, in Piazza del Rosario (Piazza Gramsci). After the destruction of this monument, in September 1944, the statues were finally destined for the entrance to the cemetery, where they still are today. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barriera_Albertina

This building in Novara stands out, but not because of its use for Polizia Postale E Delle Comunicazioni. The architecture is quite different from the other buildings around it. A modern architecture somewhere between the 40s and 60s of the 20th century.

The Novara Cathedral, whose full name is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, is the main Catholic place of worship in the city of Novara, the episcopal seat of the diocese of the same name. The frescoes of the Novara Cathedral are by Carlo Bazzi.

The chirch is impressive, doesn't matter to have double highlight