Pella: Bridge, Churches, Trails and Holiday Apartments
Accommodation in Pella
In Pella, historic buildings, religious sites, traces of former crafts and trails through the surrounding area stand side by side.
Bridges and buildings with a history of their own
The Ponte sul Pellino is an arched bridge dating from 1578. It bears the inscription “Magrioha-ninusde rugis fecit” and formerly served as a connection to the nearby San Rocco cemetery. The San Filiberto complex includes the oldest chapel on the western shore of Lake Orta, built around the 11th century. Fourteen chapels dating from 1794 surround the complex and depict the Stations of the Cross. It also includes a Romanesque bell tower dating from between 1075 and 1110.
From the villa to granite processing
Villa Durio in Alzo is a 16th-century building with fresco-decorated arcades in the courtyard. The former Cartiera Sonzogno in Pella used the water of the Pellino to power two dynamos. These supplied the factory and some of the village’s street lamps with electricity. Until 1907, the Sonzogno paper mill employed more than one hundred workers and produced paper for the Milanese Sonzogno publishing house. The Monumento agli Scalpellini commemorates granite processing, once the predominant craft of the area’s population.
Lakeside promenade, washhouse and churches
A single tower from Pella’s medieval defensive system remains on the lakeside promenade near Piazza Motta. It is privately owned and visible from the outside. Pella’s covered washhouse was supplied by the Pellino and served the village’s women for washing clothes when storms or rain prevented them from going to the lakeshore.
In the Chiesa Parrocchiale di Sant'Albino, a granite lintel indicates the year of construction as 1591. To the right of the entrance is Perraccino’s painting “La Presentazione”. The Oratorio di San Giulio is also known as Natività di Maria Santissima and is a small church in the woods of the hamlet of Ronco Sopra. In Ronco Sotto stands the Chiesa di San Defendente, a historical testament to the movement of artists along the old mule track between Valsesia or Colma and the lake.
Two trails from Pella
On the Scala Santa route, after about 800 metres you reach a wooden bridge over the Pellesina stream; after another 500 metres, you arrive behind the church of Pella. The Pella–Centonara route begins next to the church of Pella on a mule track towards Ventraggia.
Island, peaks and museums in the surrounding area
The immediate surroundings of Pella include Isola San Giulio, an island. Monte Trevigno, a peak, is also located nearby. Monte Piogera and Monte Vesso are peaks in the area around Pella. Museo Meina is a museum in the surroundings of Pella. Arteadarona and the Museo Archeologico are also museums in this area. The wider regional area around Pella also includes the Museo "Come Eravamo".
Other places: Galliate, Alzo, Varallo Pombia, Bellinzago Novarese, Cavaglio D'agogna, Lagna, Lumellogno, Casalino
Novara: Novara.
