Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and ''

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 ...

'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) 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 out ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. The city is situated on the Sesia River in the plain of the Po River between

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 ...

and

Turin Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. The ...

. It is an important centre for the cultivation of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

and is surrounded by

rice paddies A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Au ...

, which are flooded in the summer. The climate is typical of the Po Valley with cold, foggy winters ( in January) and oppressive heat during the summer months ( in July). Rainfall is most prevalent during the spring and autumn; thunderstorms are common in the summer. The languages spoken in Vercelli are

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 ...

and

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 reg ...

; the variety of Piedmontese native to the city is called ''Varsleis''. The world's first university funded by public money was established in Vercelli in 1228 (the seventh university founded in Italy), but was closed in 1372. Today it has a university of literature and philosophy as a part of the Università del Piemonte Orientale and a satellite campus of the

Politecnico di Torino The Polytechnic University of Turin ( it, Politecnico di Torino) is the oldest Italian public technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban Planning and Industrial Design, and is co ...

History

Vercellae (or ''Vercelum'') was the capital of the ''Libici'' or ''Lebecili'', a Ligurian tribe; it became an important

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...

, near which Gaius Marius defeated the Cimbri and the Teutones in the Battle of Vercellae in 101 BC. The imperial

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

Flavius Stilicho Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosiu ...

annihilated the Goths there 500 years later. It was half-ruined in

St. Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...

's time (''olim potens, nunc raro habitatore semiruta'' (1, 3.1)). After the Lombard invasion it belonged to the Duchy of Ivrea. From 885 it was under the jurisdiction of the prince-bishop, who was a Count of the Empire. It became an independent commune in 1120 and joined the first and second Lombard leagues. Its statutes are among the most interesting of those of the medieval republics. In 1197 they abolished the servitude of the glebe. In 1228 the University of Pavia was transferred to Vercelli, where it remained until the fourteenth century, but without gaining much prominence; only a university school of law has been maintained. In 1307, Fra Dolcino, the leader of the

Dulcinians {{no footnotes, date=July 2018 The Dulcinians were a religious sect of the Late Middle Ages, originating within the Apostolic Brethren. The Dulcinians, or Dulcinites, and Apostolics were inspired by Franciscan ideals and influenced by the Joachimi ...

was tortured and burned at the stake. During the troubles of the 13th century, it fell into the power of the

Della Torre The House of Della Torre (Torriani or Thurn) were an Italian noble family who rose to prominence in Lombardy during the 12th–14th centuries, until they held the lordship of Milan before being ousted by the Visconti. History The family originall ...

of Milan (1263), of the Marquesses of Monferrato (1277), who appointed

Matteo I Visconti Matteo I Visconti (1250–1322) was the second of the Milanese Visconti family to govern Milan. Matteo was born to Teobaldo Visconti and Anastasia Pirovano. In 1287, Matteo's uncle Ottone Visconti, archbishop and first lord of Milan, nomina ...

captain (1290–1299). The Tizzoni ( Ghibellines) and Avogadri ( Guelphs) disputed the city from 1301 to 1334. The Guelphs were expelled several times, enabling the Marquess of Monferrato to take Vercelli (1328), which voluntarily placed itself under the Viscount of Milan in 1334. In 1373, Bishop Giovanni Fieschi expelled the Visconti, but Matteo reconquered the city.

Facino Cane Facino Cane. Facino Cane da Casale (1360 – May 1412), born Bonifacio Cane, was an Italian condottiero. Biography Cane was born in Casale Monferrato to a noble family. He trained in the military arts by fighting under Otto of Brunswick agai ...

(1402), profiting by the strife between Giovanni Maria and Filippo Maria Visconti, took Vercelli, but was driven out by Theodore II of Montferrat (1404), from whom the city passed to the

dukes of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at th ...

(1427). In 1499 and 1553 Vercelli was captured by the French, and in 1616 and 1678 by the Spaniards. In 1704 it sustained an energetic siege by the French, who failed to destroy the fortress, after which it shared the fortunes of Savoy. In 1821 Vercelli rose in favour of the Constitution.

Government

Main sights

Vercelli is home to numerous relics of the Roman period, e.g. an amphitheatre, hippodrome, sarcophagi, and many important inscriptions, some of which are Christian. There are seven noteworthy towers in the town, the most important are the ''Torre dell’Angelo'', which rears up over the old market square, and the ''Torre di Città'' in Via Gioberti. Vercelli-Santandrea

Vercelli Cathedral Vercelli Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Vercelli, ''Cattedrale di Sant'Eusebio'') is the principal church of the city of Vercelli in Piedmont, Italy, and the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Vercelli. It is dedicated to Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, the ...

, formerly adorned with precious pillars and mosaics, was erected and enlarged by Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, to whom it was dedicated after his death. It was remodelled as of the ninth century and radically changed in the eighteenth by Count Alfieri. Like the other churches in the city, it contains valuable paintings, especially those of

Gaudenzio Ferrari Gaudenzio Ferrari (c. 1471 – 11 January 1546) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the Renaissance. Biography Gaudenzio was born to Franchino Ferrari at Valduggia in the Valsesia in the Duchy of Milan. Valduggia is now in the Province of V ...

Gerolamo Giovenone Gerolamo Giovenone (1486/1487 – 1555), also spelled ''Girolamo'', was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance period, active mainly in Milan. He was born in Vercelli. He was the teacher of the painter Gaudenzio Ferrari and possibly als ...

and Bernardino Lanino, who were natives of Vercelli. The cathedral's Capitulary Library contains valuable manuscripts. Its religious texts include the Codex Vercellensis, an evangeliarium of the fourth century; hagiographical manuscripts, not all of which have been critically examined; and a very old copy of the ''

Imitation of Christ In Christian theology, the imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus.''A concise dictionary of theology'' by Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia 2004 page 115''Imitating Jesus: an inclusive approach to New Testament ...

'', which is relied upon as an argument for attributing the authorship to John Gersen. Its secular texts include the '' Novels'' of

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

; and the 8th-century ''Leges Langobardorum'' (Laws of the Lombards - Germanic). Finally, it contains the famous

Vercelli Book The Vercelli Book is one of the oldest of the four Old English Poetic Codices (the others being the Junius manuscript in the Bodleian Library, the Exeter Book in Exeter Cathedral Library, and the Nowell Codex in the British Library). It is an ant ...

— an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

manuscript which includes the celebrated alliterative poem '' The Dream of the Rood''. The civil archives are not less important and contain documents dating from 882. The Basilica di Sant'Andrea was erected by Cardinal

Guala Bicchieri Guala Bicchieri ( 1150 – 1227) was an Italian diplomat, papal official and cardinal. He was the papal legate in England from 1216 to 1218, and took a prominent role in the politics of England during King John’s last years and Henry III’ ...

in 1219. Together with the old Cistercian

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

, it is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved Romanesque monuments in Italy. Among other noteworthy churches in the city is the '' Santa Maria Maggiore''. Vercelli's synagogue, an example of Moorish Revival architecture, is located at Via Foà 70 and the city's Jewish cemetery at Corso Randaccio 24. On 23 November 2013, after what was believed to be an antisemitic act, two swastikas were found sprayed on its walls. The Institute of the Beaux-Arts contains paintings by Vercellese artists. Ancient charitable institutions continue, such as the hospital founded by Cardinal Guala Bicchieri (1224), which has an annual revenue of more than 600,000 lire ($117,000); and the hospices for orphan girls (1553) and for boys (1542), and mendicant homes. Vercelli is the seat of the Viotti International Music Competition.

Demographics

In 2007, 44,475 people were recorded as residing in Vercelli, of whom 47.3% were male and 52.7% were female. Minors (children aged 18 and younger) totalled 14.41% of the population and pensioners 25.83%; the overall national averages are, respectively, 18.06% and 19.94%. The average age of a Vercelli resident was 47 (five years more than the national average of 42) and the birth rate was 8.69 births per 1,000 inhabitants (national average 9.45 births per 1,000 inhabitants). In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Vercelli declined by 1.31% while the national population grew by 3.56%. , 92.38% of the population was

. The remainder were

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n (3.48%),

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

n (2.21%) and

Sub-Saharan Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African co ...

(0.64%). Approximately 1 in 6 babies born in Vercelli has at least one foreign parent.

Museums

* Museo Camillo Leone * Museo Francesco Borgogna

Notable people

* Eusebius of Vercelli (ca.283 – 371) first bishop in Vercelli (mid 340's) and counts as a saint. * Atto II of Vercelli (ca.885–961), a Lombard, became bishop of Vercelli in 924. * William of Montevergine (1085–1142), a wanderer, ascetic and founder of a number of monastic houses. *

(ca.1150 – 1227) diplomat, papal official and cardinal. * Emilia Bicchieri (1238–1314) Roman Catholic nun from the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

* Fra Dolcino (ca.1250 – 1307) second leader of the Dulcinian reformist movement, burned at the stake. * Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (1477–1549), also known as

Il Sodoma Il Sodoma (1477 – 14 February 1549) was the name given to the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the traditions of ...

, a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

painter. *

Francesco Antonio Vallotti Francesco Antonio Vallotti (11 June 1697 – 10 January 1780) was an Italian composer, music theorist, and organist. Life He was born in Vercelli. He studied with G. A. Bissone at the church of St. Eusebius, and joined the Franciscan order ...

(1697–1780) composer, music theorist and organist. * Giacomo Abbondo (1720–1788), Roman Catholic priest, beatified in 2015. * Eusebio Bava (1790–1854) army general who fought in the First Italian War of Independence. * Edoardo Arborio Mella (1808–1884), architect, restorer and scholar. * Angelo Agostini (1843–1910), illustrator, journalist and the first Brazilian cartoonist. * Luigi Galleani (1861–1931), anarchist in the US; advocated '' propaganda of the deed'' * Lucia Contini Anselmi (1876-after 1913), pianist and composer. * Ennio Baiardi (1928–2014) politician, Mayor of Vercelli, 1975 to 1983 * Fiorenza Cossotto (born 1935), operatic mezzo-soprano. * Angelo Gilardino (1941–2022), composer and classical guitarist. *

Anita Caprioli Anita Caprioli (born 11 December 1973) is an Italian theatre and film actress. Biography Born in Vercelli, Piedmont, the daughter of a stage actress, Caprioli made her stage debut in London in 1995 with Andrea Brooks, in an adaptation of Carlo G ...

(born 1973), theatre and film actress.

Sport

* Marcello Bertinetti (1885–1967), fencer, team gold medallist at the 1908, 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics * Virginio Rosetta (1902–1975) footballer with 423 club caps and 52 for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Pietro Ferraris Pietro Ferraris (; 15 February 1912 – 11 October 1991) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Throughout his career, he won 6 Serie A titles with Ambrosiana-Inter and Torino, and the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national foo ...

(1912–1991), footballer with 533 club caps and 14 for

Silvio Piola Silvio Piola (; 29 September 1913 – 4 October 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set, and he is regarded as one of th ...

(1913–1996), footballer with 619 club caps and 34 for

* Teobaldo Depetrini (1914–1996), footballer with over 450 club caps and 12 for

* Franco Bertinetti (1923–1995), fencer, team gold medallist at the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

& 1956 Summer Olympics *

Elisabetta Perrone Elisabetta Perrone (born 9 July 1968) is a former race walker from Italy who won eighteen medals, eight of these at senior level, at the International athletics competitions. Biography Elisabetta Perrone won six medals, at individual level, at th ...

(born 1968) race walker and multiple medallist * Giovanni Pellielo (born 1970) sport shooter and four-time Olympic medallist in the

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

* Vittorio Mero (1974–2002), footballer with over 200 club caps * Moise Kean (born 2000), footballer with over 100 club caps so far and 12 for

Cuisine

The typical dish is rice with beans, called ''panissa'' (''made with Arborio, Baldo or Maratelli rice''), the ''tartufata'' (cake) and the ''bicciolani'' a type of biscuit. The typical wine is Gattinara DOCG, a classic red wine of Piedmont made principally from the

nebbiolo Nebbiolo (, ; pms, nebieul ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the '' Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero ...

grape (known locally as ''spanna'') from the ''

'' of Gattinara, where there is archaeological evidence of vines being grown in Roman times.

Sport

Unione Sportiva Pro Vercelli was one of the most successful football clubs in Italy in the early 20th century, winning the national championship seven times between 1908 and 1922. However, in the summer of 2010, it was not admitted to the league due to heavy debt. A.S. Pro Belvedere Vercelli continued the history of the club and changed its name to F.C. Pro Vercelli 1892. Currently, it plays in the

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

Twin towns

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, France *

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hig ...

, Spain

References

Sources and external links

Vercelli
* Macadam, Alta (1997). ''Blue Guide. Northern Italy: from the Alps to Bologna''. London: A & C Black. . *
Museo Borgogna

Museo del Tesoro del Duomo

Riso Maratelli
{{Authority control Roman towns and cities in Italy 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations Cities and towns in Piedmont

History

Government

Main sights

Demographics

Museums

Notable people

Sport

Cuisine

Sport

Twin towns

See also

References

Further reading

Sources and external links