
Situata tra le colline a nord del capoluogo è un rinomato centro di viticoltura; Fara è una cittadina fondata nel periodo altomedievale. Il nome è di origine longobarda e apparve per la prima volta in un documento del 955. Legata alle vicende di Novara si trovò in possesso dei Vescovi locali. Razziata per due volte dai Francesi (1645 e 1653), Fara divenne un possedimento dei marchesi Serafini di Piacenza (1715).
Located in the hills north of Novara, Fara is a viticulture center; it is Middle Ages town. The name appeared for the first time in a document of 955. Fara was possession of Novara bishops until it became possession of Piacenza marquis (1715)
| Abitanti/Inhabitants number: 2016 |
Superficie/Surface: kmq: 9.35 |
Altitudine sul mare/Altitude: 211 m |
| Denominazione degli abitanti/Inhabitants: faresi |
Altre località/Towns: |
Cascine/Farms: |
| Festa patronale/Patrons: S. Damiano |
Telefono/Phone: Prefisso 0321 |
Codice Postale/Postal code: 28073 |
This church of Romanesque origins is situated within the cemetery and contains important 15th century frescoes. When the small village was situated on the hill, the church was the parish church of the town. The upper part of the apse is dominated by the figure of Christ the Ruler surrounded by the apostles and the symbols of the Evangelists: the angel, the winged bull, the eagle and the winged lion. In the lower part of the apse, noteworthy for the delicacy of its colours, a series of ten pictures represents the succession of the months from April to January, showing activities of the local country people of the time.
Towards the end of the 16th century parochial status passed to the church of Saints Fabian and Sebastian in the town centre. It was extended between 1601 and 1616 by the wishes of Novara, Carlo Bascapè. The fine gabled façade has a vestibule with six granite columns; the lunette above the main door was frescoed by Cristoforo Martinolio, pupil of Morazzone. The church was consecrated in 1830 by Paolo Maggi. Noteworthy is the scurolo (tomb) dedicated to St Damian, planned by the architect Luigi Orelli and built towards the end of the 18th century.
In the 15th century Fara possessed two castles, the “castrum vetus”, or lower, today known as the “Castelone”, and the “castrum novum”, or upper, called the “Castello”. The former is built ono the rise overlooking the town and was originally a fortification of which the tower is the remaining evidence. Inside the building is an interesting 16th century fresco depicting an enthroned Masonna and Child. Over the centuries the Castellone underwent various alterations and today resembles a country house. A pleasant garden has replaced the ramparts and a vineyard slopes down towards the village. The “Castello” has also been heavily altered over the years by a succession of different owners. A graceful country villa of the 18th and 19th centuries, it was transformed at the beginning of the 20th century into a college for young people run by the Padri Guanelliani; recently it has become a private clinic. The variety of trees and centuries-old specimens in the large park surrounding the “Castello” are of great interest.
The 19th century Palazzo Dessilani, in former times the property of the Malaspina family, is located in the centre of the town and possesses an elegant and well-preserved façade. A loggia gives onto an interior courtyard containing an attractive fountain in white Carrara marble, while a wrought-iron gate leads into a large Italian-style garden. This adjoins a prosperous vineyard featuring an impressive 19th century chestnut pergola. The long established wine producing firm of dessilani has its central offices in the buildings.
This palace in Gallarini street is built on a two-storeyed U-shaped plan. The façade giving onto the street has no balconies and is very simple. Of greater architectural interest is the courtyard façade and the garden: the ground floor is encircled by a fine granite colonnade. Within the courtyard is the ancient funerary urn of an imperial seviro, a priest in the service of the imperial worship, named Luperci or Lupercus. The funeray urn dates from the second half of the 2nd century ad.
The "cantina sociale dei colli novaresi" was formed in 1954 by 91 growers of the area; today it has 400 members. Wines produced with local varieties of grape such as Caramino and Ronchi are known throughout the world, an example being the excellent Fara doc with an alcoholic strength of 12%
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