Mandello Vitta (''Mandel'' in
Piedmontese
Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...
and in
Lombard, IPA pronunciation: /maŋˈdɛl/) is a ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' (municipality) in the
Province of Novara
Novara (It. ''Provincia di Novara'') is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Novara.
In 1992, the new Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola was created through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previou ...
in the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
region
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
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, located about northeast of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and about northwest of
Novara
Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...
.
The comune is located in the western part of the provincial territory that lies between the rivers Sesia and Agogna.
Mandello Vitta borders the following municipalities:
Casaleggio Novara
Casaleggio Novara is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara
Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in th ...
,
Castellazzo Novarese
Castellazzo Novadeez is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara.
Castellazzo Novarese borders the following municipalities: Briona, Cas ...
,
Landiona
Landiona is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 600 and an area of .All demographics ...
,
Sillavengo
Sillavengo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara.
Sillavengo borders the following municipalities: Arborio (VC), Arborio, ...
, and
Vicolungo
Vicolungo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 857 and an area of .All demographics ...
.
Mandello Vitta is 5 km far from the strada provinciale 299 della Valsesia (SP 299) that connects Novara and
Alagna Valsesia
Alagna Valsesia (Walser German: ''Im Land'', Piedmontese: ''Alagna'', Valsesiano: ''Lagna'') is a ''comune'' and small village high in the Valsesia alpine valley in the province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy, a UNESCO World heritage site ...
, in the
Province of Vercelli
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
. The comune is easily accessible by the
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
Autostrada A4 Turin-Trieste through the junction "
Biandrate
Biandrate (Piedmontese: ''Biandrà'', Lombard: ''Biandraa'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about west of Novara.
History
Archaeological findings h ...
-Vicolungo".
Mandello Vitta is also part of some thematic itineraries of the Province of Novara.
Toponymy
The etymology of the name ''Mandello'' derives from the founder Rubaconte da Mandello, ''
Podestà
Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...
'' of the
Commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of Novara during the 13th century, whose family was originated from
Mandello del Lario
Mandello del Lario (Lecchese: ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecco, in Lombardy, on Lake Como.
Since 1921, Mandello del Lario has been home to Moto Guzzi—the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, now a subsidiary of Piagg ...
.
The name Vitta was added after the
Italian Unification
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
to distinguish Mandello Vitta from the omonomy Mandello del Lario. Vitta was a family who owned fields and industries in the comune during the 19th century.
History
Before the foundation of the village, a
Lombard settlement may had been present, as remains of a burial ground found here suggest.
In the territory of the comune, a
cage cup
A cage cup, also ''vas diatretum'', plural ''diatreta'', or "reticulated cup" is a type of luxury late Roman glass vessel, found from roughly the 4th century, and "the pinnacle of Roman achievements in glass-making". ''Diatreta'' consist of a ...
(Coppa diatreta Trivulzio, 4th century) was found with no damage in a
sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
of Roman age. Now it is exposed at the Archeological Museum in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. The inscription "BIBE VIVAS MULTIS ANNIS" ("Drink and you will live for many years") is a great sponsorship for wine produced in the nearby Novara Hills (Colline Novaresi).
The village of Mandello Vitta was founded by and named after the ''
Podestà
Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...
'' of Novara Rubaconte da Mandello, native of Milan but his family was originated from
Mandello del Lario
Mandello del Lario (Lecchese: ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecco, in Lombardy, on Lake Como.
Since 1921, Mandello del Lario has been home to Moto Guzzi—the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, now a subsidiary of Piagg ...
(
Province of Lecco
The Province of Lecco ( it, provincia di Lecco; Lecchese: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecco.
As of 2017, the province had a population of 337,211 on a surface of divided into ...
). In the land not far from the river
Sesia
The Sesia (Latin ''Sesites'' or ''Sessites'') is a river in Piedmont, north-western Italy, tributary to the Po.
Geography
Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland. It flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia an ...
, along the medieval road named "Strada Biandrina" which connected Biandrate to
Romagnano Sesia
Romagnano Sesia is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of about 4,000 inhabitants in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara.
Romagnano Sesia borders the following ...
and to
Valsesia
Valsesia ( pms, Valsesia; Walser German: ''Tseschrutol''; it, Valle della Sesia) is a group of valleys in the north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy; the principal valley is that of the river Sesia.
The major towns located h ...
, in the first decades of 13th century he decides to install a new "borgo franco". The aim of this new village was to ensure safe and fast connections from Novara to the Alps and to control the territory along the eastern bank of the river Sesia that were disputed with the rival
Commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of
Vercelli
Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
. Mandello Vitta features a 13th century mediaval tower that is still visible on the south-west side of the village and perfectly preserved (it is one of the architectural symbols of Mandello). The tower was originally intended for land control and toll payment.
Nearby the tower, the castle of Caccia, the family who controlled Mandello since the first years of 16th century, was built. Caccia owned the village until the 18th century. Then, the fiefdom was invested in the Vitta family who deeply engraved the history of Mandello so that, after the Italian Unification, in 1863 the comune changed its name into Mandello Vitta (r.d. 8 aprile 1863, n. 1234).
In 1928 (r.d. 1 November 1928, n. 2590) the commune of Mandello Vitta merged with the neighbouring village of Vicolungo to form a new municipality, having both seat of the Town Hall and name Vicolungo. This political order lasted until 1954 (d.p.r. 24 December 1954) when the reconstitution of Mandello Vitta as autonomous commune was decreed.
Geography
The land around Mandello Vitta can be considered roughly flat, although it gently descends from north to south. The maximum altitude is located at the border with municipalities of
Sillavengo
Sillavengo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara.
Sillavengo borders the following municipalities: Arborio (VC), Arborio, ...
and
Castellazzo Novarese
Castellazzo Novadeez is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara.
Castellazzo Novarese borders the following municipalities: Briona, Cas ...
and the minimum one is southwards on the border with
Vicolungo
Vicolungo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 857 and an area of .All demographics ...
and
Casaleggio Novara
Casaleggio Novara is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara
Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in th ...
.
The territory is rich of water streams whether they come from river Sesia or from natural springs. The ''roggia'' (irrigation canal) ''Busca'' touches the north-east side of the village in the direction of Castellazzo Novarese; ''roggia'' ''Biraga'' flows on the west and it constitutes the border with the municipality of
Landiona
Landiona is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 600 and an area of .All demographics ...
. Beside these, water flows in streams, cables and smaller ditches that spread it all around the territory of Mandello Vitta. It's interesting to report the presence of the remains of a
watermill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
near the village that, until a few decades ago, exploited the flow of the roggia Busca.
Mandello Vitta is mainly surrounded by
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
fields, a cereal widely cultivated in the Province of Novara, which create during the irrigation period the peculiar "''mare a quadretti''" (square or checkered sea) of the novarese rice fields.
Local Cuisine
The typical cuisine is connected to the local agricultural and farming products (rice, salami, cheese). Among them: paniscia (a rice-based dish originally of the Provinces of Novara and Vercelli), "Salam d'la Duja" (a salami seasoned in fat), "tapulon" (minced meat), goose or ribs with savoy cabbage, roasted duck, "frittura dolce",
gorgonzola
Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined blue cheese, originally from Italy, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining.
History
Historically, gorgonzola has been produced for ...
cheese, the traditional ''«bagnetto verde»'' (savoury green sauce) and fried frogs.
Transports
Main roads are two: the Strada Provinciale SP15/I from
Borgo Vercelli
Borgo Vercelli is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northeast of Vercelli.
Borgo Vercelli borders the following municipalities: Casalino, Casalvolo ...
to
Carpignano Sesia
Carpignano Sesia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara.
Carpignano Sesia borders the following municipalities: Briona, Fara Novares ...
, that does not cross the village, and the SP14 that cross Mandello Vitta connecting the abovementioned SP15/I to SP 299 "della Valsesia" passing through Castellazzo Novarese. From the latter, 500 m outside the village in the direction of Castellazzo Novarese, a road allows to connect Mandello Vitta with Casaleggio Novara.
Multiple rural roads exist to reach fields and many farmhouses such as Biola, Flecchia, Gagliarda, Moranza, San Rocco, Cascina delle Oche, Eurosia (''Bröss''
røsin local dialect).
The bus line Novara-Biandrate-Vercelli can take passengers to the capitol city Novara in about half an hour.
The municipal territory is crossed by the railway line
Biella–Novara railway, however Mandello does not have a railway station. Nearest stations are in
Casaleggio and
Carpignano Sesia
Carpignano Sesia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara.
Carpignano Sesia borders the following municipalities: Briona, Fara Novares ...
.
Between 1884 and 1993 Mandello was served by the Vercelli-Biandrate-Fara
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
way.
Architecture
Chiesa di San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence's Church)
![MandelloVitta parrocchiale](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/MandelloVitta_parrocchiale.jpg)
In the town square stands the parish church dedicated to
Saint Lawrence the deacon, patron saint of the town, built in the late
Romanesque period at the end of the 12th century. The
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
stands on the right side of the church and it is from late Romanesque period, as well. The Church was probably built in the 14th century due to the presence of a
cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
wall arranged in horizontal courses. On the other hand, the
apsidal
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
part, in
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
, is from a later period.
Although the foundation is medieval, the architectural forms acquired after the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
retouches prevail. The building consists of three
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
s, the largest one covered by a vault introduced by a series of veils with a lower bezel and the side ones covered by
cross vaults. The short
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
consists of two rectangular-shaped chapels opened in the Baroque age, dedicated of the
Madonna del Rosario
Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title.
The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Roma ...
on the left and to the
Crucifix
A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
on the right. The presbytery and the choir is flanked by two small naves in which recent restorations have led to the discovery of interesting paintings from 14th and 16th centuries.
Cappella di Sant'Antonio (Saint Anthony's Church)
Dated around 1450, this chapel is supposed to have become, about the 17th century, an oratory instituted by the noble priest Giovanni Battista Caccia (whose remains are buried in a crypt in front of the chapel of the Crucifix in the Chiesa di San Lorenzo).
This smaller Church is characterized by a single hall with brickwork, partly plastered, covered by vaults and with a gabled roof with a pavilion surmounted by tiles. Inside, among the various frescoes, worthy of mention is a 15th-century painting depicting a
Madonna and Child
In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...
.
Tower
The medieval tower is the emblem architecture of Mandello Vitta. It was part of a larger fortification in defense of the ''borgofranco''. The building can be dated around the mid 12th century and it represents, for the area of Novara, one of the best preserved buildings of its kind. Currently, no trace of the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
(''castrum'' in
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
) is no longer evident; it is assumed that it was located around the tower originally intended for both control and payment of tolls.
The tower is about 30 metres high, with a square plan, in brick, and it presents successive moments of construction: a first moment between the 12th and 13th centuries, corresponding to the period in which the village was founded, the second in the
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
and late Gothic periods and then renovated in 1594.
WWI Memorial
The
fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
in Piazza Regina Margherita, inaugurated on October 28, 1928, commemorates the fallen of the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
through the epigraph that reads:
«''1915 - 1918''
''Sia quest'acqua''
''che vien dal profondo''
''limpida e pura''
''sempre''
''come fu la fede''
''di coloro''
''a cui è dedicata''
''Mandello Vitta''
''28-10-1928''
''Il primo podestà''»
Which literally translates:
''1915 - 1918. Let this water coming from the deep ground'' ''be clear and pure ever as the faith of those whom it is dedicated to was''. ''Mandello Vitta 10-28-1928.The first Podestà.''
Town Hall
The Town Hall shows 19th-century characters and it is divided into three floors.
The majestic palace was built in 1864 as indicated by the date between the two noble coats of arms that decorate the entrance door in the upper part; one of which belongs to the ''Caccia'' family. The ground floor has a ''
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
'' with five arches supported by pillars. In the ''portico'' one can find an
ATM (''Postamat'') placed by
Poste Italiane and an
AED for medical urgencies.
Photo Gallery
References
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Piedmont