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Vercelli (Vërsèj in Piedmontese), founded in 49 CE, is a city of about 46,000 inhabitants, in the Province of Vercelli, Italy. The town is situated in the Pianura Padana, between Milan and Turin. It is an important centre for the cultivation of rice, and is surrounded by paddy fields, which are flooded in summer.
Vercelli has a University of Literature and a satellite campus of the Politecnico di Torino.
History
The Battle of Vercellae was fought nearby in 101 BCE.
Main sights
There are two noteworthy towers in the town: the Torre dell’Angelo which rears up over the old market square (see picture), and the Torre di Città in Via Gioberti.
St. Andrew’s Basilica, started in 1219, is a remarkable example of gothic and romanesque architecture.
The cathedral, dedicated to St Eusebius, dates in part from 1572. It houses several art works and its library holds the famous Vercelli Book—an Old English manuscript which includes the celebrated alliterative poem The Dream of the Rood, the 8th century Laws of the Lombards and other early manuscripts.
Museums
The Museo Borgogna has an important collection of paintings, including examples of the work of Titian and Jan Brueghel the Elder as well as that of Piedmontese painters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The Museo Camillo Leone holds a rich collection of objects of archaeological and historic interest and of decorative art.
Natives of Vercelli
- William of Montevergine (1085–1142) a wanderer, ascetic and founder of a number of monastic houses.
- Il Sodoma (1477–1549?), also known as Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, an Italian Mannerist painter.
- Angelo Gilardino (born 1941), composer and classical guitarist.
Culinary matters
The typical dish is rice with beans, called panissa. The typical wine is Gattinara DOCG, a classic red wine of Piedmont made principally from the nebbiolo grape (known locally as spanna) from the comune 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 earlier times, winning the national championship seven times between 1908 and 1922. Today it competes in the Serie C2.
See also
Further reading
- vercelli.net has a range of articles, in Italian, on the history, architecture, gastronomy, etc, of Vercelli.
References
- Macadam, Alta (1997). Blue Guide. Northern Italy: from the Alps to Bologna. London: A & C Black. ISBN 0-7136-4294-7.
- Museo Borgogna.
- Museo Camillo Leone.
- Vini Italiani DOCG: Gattinara DOCG.
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