Featured Accommodation

Information about Greggio in the Province of Vercelli

Centre of agriculture and of high qualità production and seed rice. Greggio was an ancient abbey fiefdom situated near the Cavour channel, quoted in imperial certificates from the X and XI century and connected with the benedictine abbey of the Saints Nazario and Celdo, from which depended also the original parish of Saint Stephen. During the Middle Age the hospital of Saint Andrew in Vercelly owned many possessions in Greggio, which went under the Savoy domination in 1335; in 1513 the Emperoro Massimilano I inserted Greggio in the county allocated to Mercurio Arborio of Gattinara.

On of the main testimonies of the past is the big Arborio (Gattinara) Castle-stronghold (1550), nowadays used as a farm. This presents some noteworthy traces, such as the original river stone herringbone wall, the preciious medieval windows and the low cylindrical towers, which are visibile even from the main road. Not far there is the Parish of the Saints Quirico and Judith, which was the ancient church of the noble families, later opened also to the village inhabitants in the place of the benedictine church of Saint Stephen (XIII century), situated about one kilometer away from the village.

The existing church, with a very colourful façade covered by a mosaic in 1963-65, is not very interesting from the architectural point of view, because of the many modifications carried out during the centuries. In its interiors, divided into four bays and three naves, there are two interesting paintings from the XVI century: a frescoed lunette representing Saint Mary of the Graces probably painted by Bernardino Lanino (1512 – 1582/83) positioned at the end of the left nave and, in the short fresco which is detached and applied on wood, a Virgin Suckling the Child, again attributed to the school of Lanino.

Articles