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Basilica di San Giulio (sec. IV)

St. Julius Basilica (IVth century) (Isola di San Giulio)

St. Julius Basilica, founded by the Saint in 390 A.D., is the main treasure of Novara’s Romanesque art; it is set on the homonymous island, which is the heart of Cusio and of its lake. In the past, the entire island was property of the Church, with Novara bishop’s palace and other buildings assigned to the canons. This aura of sanctity is hovering still today thanks to the enclosed nuns, whose presence, dated back to 1973, radiates a surreal glow; the whole place is nothing but a unique scenery of art, history, culture, traditions, landscapes and viewpoints to the visitors.
During the XIXth century, and after St. Julius’ foundation – which had become the evangelist of Cusio – a new religious palace has been built, the metropolitan Church of the Riviera, the holy heart of the little independent reign that characterize the history of all Cusio villages. Many rearrangements have concerned the Basilica during the centuries. The oldest part is the apse, while the aisles were built during the Xth and the XIth centuries. The façade is tripartite and trimmed with small hanging arches; sideways there are two small towers dated back to the XIIth century. The XIIth century bell tower, distinct and isolated to the church, has a square structure and it has a triple lancet window at the level of the belfry; that`s why it is often compared with the cathedral’s bell of Ivrea. Goodness knows how the direct landing place to the main entry steps was triumphal and charming! The church really overlooks the lake, thanks to a pronaos added during the XVIIth century and a flight of steps, but today the access is usually through the side entrance, near the bishop’s palace.

The interior is composed of a nave and two aisles and it preserves some frescos dated back to many different periods; some of them are covered and the oldest ones go back to the XIVth century. Frescos and paintings of the following periods come alongside as in a sacred banquet of Saints, Madonnas and the Stations of the Cross.

But inside the Basilica there are two treasures: in the crypt below the high altar there is an urn that contains St. Julius’ remains. According to the tradition, St. Julius and his brother Julian arrived there after escaping from Egina, in Greece, to continue their evangelization. St. Julius was looking for the place where to establish his hundredth church. At that time, the little island was nothing but a rock, infested with monsters and snakes. Then, since he didn’t find any boat, St. Julius decided to stretch out his mantle and he managed to defeat the storm and reach the island, where his preaching wiped out even the island`s monsters. He chose that very place to establish his church and he wanted to be buried there. Even today, he lies there in an urn dated back to 1698.

From the artistic point of view, the early XIIth century ambo is the main treasure of St. Julius Basilica. It is a masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture, with its rectangular-base pulpit made of Oira serpentine, the greenish stone mined in the neighbourhoods and which also decorates Milan Cathedral and Pavia Carthusian monastery. The ambo - supported by four different little columns - props up six slabs resting on a basement adorned with acanthus leaves. These six scenes are decorated in relief on the slabs and they represent the four Evangelists and two symbolic scenes with animals: the ox represents St. Luke, the angel symbolizes St. Matthew, the lion St. Mark and the eagle St. John. The two other scenes represent a centaur shooting an arrow against a deer and a group of animals including a griffon and a crocodile respectively.

St. Julius Basilica, the religious heart of Cusio, is a priceless jewel; it is a charming place on a little island in Lake Orta, so small and so high in the values that it represents as far as history, art, landscape and culture are concerned.

Isola di San Giulio



Zone
Il Lago d`Orta

Locality
Orta San Giulio