Antonelli's dome rising above the rice fields
In the plain between the Ticino and Sesia rivers, surrounded by rice fields, Novara is the second city of Piedmont and an elegant centre of arcades, squares and palaces. Its skyline is dominated by an extraordinary work of engineering: the dome of the Basilica of San Gaudenzio, built between 1844 and the 1880s by Alessandro Antonelli, the same architect of the Mole Antonelliana in Turin. Topped by a spire with a statue of the Saviour, it reaches about 121 metres, and it is one of the tallest brick domes in the world, a daring structure of superimposed colonnades and double shells, built without metal reinforcement, which has become the symbol of the city and is visible from kilometres away across the plain.
The basilica, built in the sixteenth century to a design by Pellegrino Tibaldi, houses works by Gaudenzio Ferrari and Morazzone and the silver urn of Saint Gaudentius, the first bishop of Novara. Today you can climb inside the dome with guided tours, up to the panoramic terrace at about 75 metres, with a view over the city, the rice fields and the Alps from Monte Rosa to Monviso. Antonelli also rebuilt the cathedral, with its large neoclassical pronaos, next to the early Christian baptistery, one of the oldest buildings in Piedmont. The Broletto, a complex of medieval buildings around a courtyard, houses the art gallery. Novara is known for its "biscottini di Novara", light dry biscuits, and it is in the production area of Gorgonzola.
Tip: book the climb to the dome in advance; the best time to see the rice fields flooded is April and May.
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