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. Now known as the
Basilica of San Gaudenzio, 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, uncle of the more famous
Vittorio Alfieri.
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, in the neo-classical style, also designed by Alessandro Antonelli. It rises exactly where the temple of
Jupiter 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 (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. 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 and a
Decumanus Maximus, 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
Sforza, 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
Basilica of San Gaudenzio, 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, 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) ==Culture==