It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin and fromGenoa toSwitzerland.
Novara lies between the streamsAgogna andTerdoppio in northeastern Piedmont, 50 km (31 mi) from Milan and 95 km (59 mi) from Turin. It is only 15 km (9.3 mi) distant from the riverTicino, which marks the border withLombardy region.
Novara was founded around 89 BC by theRomans, when the localGauls obtained Roman citizenship. Its name is formed fromNov, meaning "new", andAria, the name theCisalpine Gauls used for the surrounding region.
AncientNovaria, which dates to the time of theLigures and theCelts, was amunicipium 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 byMagnus Maximus for having supported his rivalValentinian II, it was rebuilt byTheodosius I. Subsequently, it was sacked byRadagaisus (in 405) andAttila (in 452).
A decree in 1859 created the province of Novara, which then included the present-day provinces ofVercelli,Biella, andVerbano-Cusio-Ossola.
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.
As of 2025, Novara has a population of 102,573, of whom 48.8% are male and 51.2% are female. Minors make up 14.8% of the population, and seniors make up 25.0%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively.[2]
As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 18,646, equal to 18.2% of the population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities areMoroccans (2,059),Albanians (1,907),Pakistanis (1,731),Ukrainians (1,387) andRomanians (964).[11]
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-engineerAlessandro Antonelli. Now known as theBasilica 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 byBenedetto Alfieri, uncle of the more famousVittorio Alfieri.
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 theBarriera 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-daybaluardi, the broad, tree-lined boulevards that surround the Historic Centre.
The centre of the religious life of the city is theNovara Cathedral, in the neo-classical style, also designed by Alessandro Antonelli. It rises exactly where the temple ofJupiter stood in the time of the Romans. Facing the Duomo is the oldest building in Novara today: the early ChristianBattistero (Baptistry).
Close to the Duomo is the courtyard of theBroletto (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 thePalazzo del Podestà ("Palace of thePodestà"),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 thePiazza delle Erbe, "Herbs square"), which constitutes the exact centre of the city of Novara.
In Piazza Giacomo Matteotti stands thePalazzo 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 thePalazzo 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 acardo and aDecumanus 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'sGuido Cantelli, is located in via Collegio Gallarini, 1 (facing largo Luigi Sante Colonna in the area between piazza Puccini and Novara's hospital).[12] The conservatory, founded in 1996, was established in a building built in the 1700s, once known as thecasone. 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.[13]
The largest square is Piazza Martiri della Libertà (formerly Piazza Castello) dominated by the equestrian statue ofVictor Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy. Overlooking the Piazza Martiri is theCastello Visconteo-Sforzesco, built by theMilanese dukesVisconti andSforza, and theTeatro Coccia. The Castello Visconteo-Sforzesco, once much larger than the complex that remains today, is surrounded by theAllea, one of the largest public gardens in Novara.
Other important squares are:
Largo Cavour, dominated by the statue ofCavour, 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 amondina.
Piazza Gramsci, formerly Piazza del Rosario, location, after the restoration of 2005, of the landmark statue of Icarus.
Church of San Nazzaro della CostaThe Ossuary of the Bicocca district of Novara, in memory of theBattle of Novara
Places of interest situated outside the belt of thebaluardi include the Church of San Nazzaro della Costa, with its attached abbey, restored in the 15th century byBernardino 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 theChurch 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.
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 asmarroni 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 theItalian resistance movement, and in particular, thepartisans 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.
The city hosts one of the seats of the medicine school of the University of Eastern Piedmont (Università del Piemonte Orientale) in the Perrone campus.
Novara is a logistics and commercial centre in the northwestern part of thePadan plain 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 to the publishing companyDe Agostini, which has been active in geographic and other publishing since 1901.
Vignale FS, a small station operated by theFerrovie dello Stato (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 theLeNord railroad. The new station in via Leonardo da Vinci opened in 2005 (regional and high-speed trains (only 2006) trains).
Novara is linked to Turin and Milan by theA4 motorway (via the junctions Novara Ovest and Novara Est). TheA26 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 andMagenta passes through Novara on its way toVercelli and Turin. Trunk roads to the north and south also link Novara to the motorway network.
Novara FC is an association football club based in Novara. There is a professional women'sSerie A1 volleyball team,Igor Novara Volley.There was an important baseball team and a very important Hockey team.[15]
Novara is divided into thirteen wards (circoscrizioni); several of these are formed of a number of quarters (quartieri), zones, and/orfrazioni.
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 theComune.
^abMegargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 369–370.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
^"Chi siamo".gemellagginovaresi.it (in Italian). Associazione per i Gemellaggi Novaresi e per l'Amicizia Internazionale.Archived from the original on 2019-12-15. Retrieved2019-12-15.
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