Holiday apartment in Vercelli – culture, cathedral and rice fields
Accommodation in Vercelli
Vercelli combines sacred architectural history, modern architecture and a landscape of rice fields. Former monastery spaces, medieval sacred buildings, museums and a cycling route through farmsteads place culture and the countryside side by side. In Vercelli, historic architectural forms therefore alternate with an open rice-field landscape.
File:Risaie nella zona di Billiemme, Vercelli, Italia.jpg
Photo: Al*from*Lig via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Culture between monastery, church and modern architecture
MAC, the Archaeological Museum of the City of Vercelli, is located in the former Santa Chiara monastery. The tour of MAC begins with an animated digital hologram of Apollo. The historic setting of the former monastery and the digital presentation are part of the same tour there.
ARCA houses a modern glass-and-steel structure that preserves and enhances the surrounding historic architecture. ARCA was created by converting the medieval Church of San Marco. At ARCA, modern construction and medieval sacred architecture therefore occupy the same site.
The synagogue of Vercelli is also regarded as one of the most significant examples of a post-ghetto synagogue in Europe. A second phase of reconstruction began in 1570 at Sant’Eusebio Cathedral. The cathedral also houses a silver crucifix from the 10th century. Sant’Eusebio therefore brings together a 16th-century construction phase and a 10th-century crucifix in the same church building. The year 1570 refers specifically to the beginning of the second reconstruction phase.
The Museum of the Cathedral Treasury is located in the archbishop’s palace. Sant’Andrea Abbey preserves a magnificent portico. Its features include terracotta surrounds and 14th-century paintings. In the palace, the cathedral treasury is the focus; at Sant’Andrea, it is the portico with its terracotta surrounds and paintings.
Railway connections and cultural program
Vercelli lies on the Milan–Turin railway line. The railway line is therefore part of the urban connections, while farmsteads and rice fields form the landscape section of the route.
Rice fields and cycling route as a landscape contrast
The “Risaie Ciclabili No. 1” route follows unpaved paths through farmsteads and rice fields that provide habitats for numerous bird species. Its surface clearly differs from the interiors, churches and palace that form part of the cultural program. The unpaved paths give the route a different rhythm from the historic interiors. For planning a day on this route, the surface is a specific practical detail: the route does not run exclusively along paved paths. The rice fields are also habitats for numerous bird species and thus a distinct component of the landscape.
The final section of the “Risaie Ciclabili No. 1” route returns to the starting point via the cycle paths along Corso Palestro and Corso Italia. At the end, the rice fields give way to the cycle paths along the two streets. The return route therefore follows specific streets in the town.
More places for planning your trip
Other places to include in your travel plans are Trino, Carisio, Riva Valdobbia, Fobello, Albano Vercellese, Vocca, Desana and Rima.
For the overarching travel overview: Vercelli.
