Information about Vercelli in the Province of Vercelli
Vercelli stands on an old territory inhabited by the Ligurian tribe, in a strategic position which rendered it an obligatory point of passage, in as much that it crossed a part of the Via Francigena . The road passes in front of the abbey of Saint Andrew, symbol of the city of Vercelli, an excellent example of a skilful merging of gothic and Romanic elements. It was erected between 1219 and 1227 on the request of cardinal Guala Bicchieri. Inside you can admire a precious wooden choir and the capitular hall, which is one of the most beautiful in Italy and was a theatre of a historic event: the peace between the Guelf and the Ghibelline signed in the presence of the emperor Arrigo VII. A little ahead you can find the Salone Dugentesco (N.d.t. Hall of the Thirteenth century) , once a “hospital” for the pilgrims.
It was in a Vercelli hospital, Saint Bridget of the Scoti, that a dying English pilgrim left a precious manuscript code on a parchment to Vercelli: the “Vercelli Book”, one of the most famous manuscripts in the world, dating back to the X century and written entirely in old Anglo - Saxon language.
This code is kept in the Capitular Library situated in Piazza d’Angennes, in the prestigious centre of the Archiepiscopal Palace, which also contains the Museum of the Treasure of the Dome where an important and precious collection of sacred vases, urns of saints and objects of cults is kept.
Near here stands the Cathedral of Saint Eusebius, where it is possible to admire a beautiful crucifix in laminated silver and gold, the biggest of the four existing crucifixes of the epoch of Otto. The Seminar faces Piazza S. Eusebio: the internal courtyard and façade were designed by Filippo Juvarra.
Along via Duomo there are a number of buildings belonging to important Vercelli families and at the beginning of it stands Santa Maria Maggiore (the first Christian church built in Vercelli, demolished and reconstructed in its present shape in the second half of the 1700). A little further, you can see the Castle of Visconti, today a court. Near via Foa you can find the splendid Synagogue, the Church of Saint Julian, which has precious fifteenth century frescoes and part of Bicchieri House.
In via Borgogna there is the homonymous Borgogna Museum, the second art gallery of Piedmont. Next to the neoclassic museum building is the Church of Saint Francesco in Saint Agnes, an impressive gothic structure whose façade has been re-done in the baroque epoch.
In Piazza Palazzo Vecchio, also called “piazza dei pesci” (N.d.T. fishes square), there are the old Broletto and the suggestive Town Hall Tower dating back to the XIII century. Here you can go in the old roman “forum”, which today still represents the heart of the city: the elegant and harmonious Piazza Cavour, dominated by the thirteenth century Torre dell’Angelo and surrounded by airy arcades from the following epochs. In this square Natural Vercelli is hold, a little market of biological products (every first Saturday of the month); the Barlafuss, or the little market of little things (every first Sunday of the month) where it is possible to find antiques and unusual modern objects; the town market, every Tuesday and Friday, and various other events.
Corso Liberta is the elegant road of shops which connects Piazza Cugnolio to Piazza Paletta, the road is filled with interesting secular and religious buildings, like the baroque church of Saint Clare built by Bernardino Vittone, the Church of the Holy Saviour, Casa Centoris, famous for the elegance of its fourteenth century courtyard in a style which reminds Bramante works, or the church of Saint Lorenzo in an elegant sixteenth century style.
In via San Cristoforo there is a splendid Church of Saint Cristoforo, an invaluable work of art, in which there is the circle of frescoes done by hand by Gaudenzio Ferrari (the Altar Piece of the Virgin of the Oranges, the Stories of Mary Magdalene, the Stories of the Virgin, the Crucifixion and the Assumption of the Virgin), an elegant balustrade done on drawings by Juvarra, a wooden crucifix and eight Mayerle canvases. Turning into via Vallotti you can reach the Piazza del Municpio, where you can admire the church of Saint Paul (founded in the XIII century and restructured during the XVII century) containing two paintings of Lanino and a Theory of the Saints dating back to the XIV century.
The Church of Saint Michele has a fresco of Lanino, a wooden polychrome crucifix and a marquetry. A few steps away you can find the Leone museum, this is the historical museum of the city where most of the finds of the area of Vercelli are kept.
Along Via Ferrarsi there are other shops which offer typical products and particular and unusual objects, you can find the original Church of Saint Bernard, known also as Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Invalids: the sacred building is divided into two parts, the oldest of which dates back to the middle of the XII century, whilst the most recent one was built at the end of the eighteen hundreds in a neo-Romanic style by Giuseppe Locarni.
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