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You are here: Borgomanero
Borgomanero is the second largest town in Novara`s Province, as far as the number of inhabitants is concerned; it is second only to the capital of the province, which is just about thirty kilometres far.The fluorishing and vital small town lies down to the North of Novara’s plain; this place has been an important trade crossroads since remote antiquity (just remind the still operative traditional Friday’s market, whose origins are lost in the mists of time), as well as the natural environmental access to the lakes. Cusio and Lake Orta are situated not far northwards; the hills from where Agogna stream has it source separate the village from Vergante and Lake Maggiore; the plain links it to Novara as well as to Milan, which is about 60 kilometers far, and to Torino, just 100 kilometers far. Borgomanero is undoubtedly a stopping place for people walking northwards to get to the Simplon Pass, and it marks the entrance to Cusio area.
Borgomanero is a “suburb” (in name and in deed) whose origins are old: first evidence of its denomination dates back to the XIIth century, at first as Borgo San Leonardo - a name that probably derives from the homonymous church, the oldest one in Borgomanero. Borgomanero probably takes its following name after Jacobus de Mayneriis, who re-planned the built-up area at the end of the XIIth century. Borgomanero’s city centre presents its original structure still today: a rectangular plan with the crossroads of two main roads meeting just in the heart of the city; Martiri Square and four historical quarters are bounded by the crossroads.
In the middle of the main square, the statue of the Virgin Mary (XVIIIth century) protects the villagers and symbolizes Borgomanero all over the world.
During the XVth century Borgomanero was the scene of a bloody battle: its ownership was indeed of strategic importance for its position, and the village was contested between the Piedmont Savoia and the Lombard Sforza families. It was Bartolomeo Colleoni and its army who won the battle, delivering Borgomanero to the Lombard possessions.
In Martiri Square, the stately Collegiate Church of St. Bartholomew replaced St. Leonard Church – which was left outside the city centre - as Parish Church. The Novara’s Romanesque XIIIth century bell tower is the oldest part of the church and it connects artistically Borgomanero to the sacred art of Cusio. A lot of rearrangements followed one another during the centuries, from the Neoclassicism to the Baroque.
Villa Marazza, which is today the seat of the Library and of Marazza Foundation, takes its name after Achille Marazza, a member of the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale Alta Italia (National Liberation Movement of northern Italy) who gave the Villa to the village in 1967. Novara and Cusio’s Resistance had many protagonists, and Bogomanero – with its positions linking the plane to the hilly and montanious area – was the place where the Liberations Army easily found refuge.
Talking about Borgomanero, we can’t help referring to the Tapulone, the typical dish of this Novara’s suburb: it is a dish based on donkey meat stewed with local red wine, served with “polenta” (a sort of thick maize porridge). Its origins are traditionally connected to a legend about the suburb’s foundation, in accordance with which a group of pilgrims, coming back from St. Julius Island at the end of their strength and forgetful of the provisions because of the spirituality of these places, decided to stop and have a rest in Borgomanero, where they defeated the hunger by sacrificing the donkey which towed their cart.
Many are the cultural events and public demonstrations organized in the village during the whole year: from the Patronal Feast of St. Bartholomew on August 24th to the traditional “Grapes Feast” in September, with the two stock comic characters of Sciòra Togna and Carulèna who have been the protagonists of such important event in the active city life since 1936.