Domodossola (Dòm in Ossola dialect, Döm in Walser, Ël Dòm in Piedmontese) is an Italian town of 18 020 inhabitants in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in Piedmont. The city is the main center of the Ossola valley and is located in the plain of the Toce river, at the confluence of the Bognanco valley, the Divedro valley, the Antigorio-Formazza valley, the Isorno valley and the Vigezzo valley.
Symbol of the city, Piazza Mercato is characterized by its
fifteenth-century porticoes supporting the manor houses with balconies
and loggias from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The capitals of
the columns, which support mismatched Romanesque and Gothic arches, are
finely sculpted and the heads bear the coats of arms of the Ossola
families, including the De Rodis, Silva, Da Ponte and Ferrari families.
In the center of the square stood the ancient fourteenth-century Palazzo
del Comune, demolished in 1805 to open the Napoleonic road of the
Sempione. On the northern side there was also the palace of the
bishop-count with its tower, while on the south the Galletti Theater
still stands today. The concession of the weekly market to the village
of Domodossola, according to the plaque placed in the square in 1891,
would have been made by Berengario I on 19 December 917. In reality, the
original diploma has been altered: it is certain, however, that the
market is very old, probably already present at the time of the Leponzi.
Of particular interest is also via Briona, dominated by the
fourteenth-century tower of the bishop's palace, which, starting from
piazza Mercato, served as an access road for the main transalpine
passes. Enclosed between houses with stone roofs and appreciated for the
balconies supported by caryatids, it was the street of the merchants,
through which the Swiss stagecoach of the Sempione also passed.
Few traces remain of the ancient pentagonal walls, which already
surrounded the village of Domodossola from the early 1300s. The main
nucleus of the walls was the castle (located near the current Piazza
Tibaldi), the Castrum novum already mentioned in parchments of 1001 and
1007, which was demolished in 1804 to open the Napoleonic road of the
Sempione. Today the remains of a corner tower joined to the walls on via
Facchinetti and the Torretta are still visible, a fine example of a
tower in local beola, to which the portico and roof were added in the
mid-19th century.
Among the oldest districts of the village is La
Motta (that is: mound, mound), probably so called due to the deposits of
debris due to the flooding of the Bogna stream. In via Carina it is
possible to admire houses with larch balconies, evidence of the Walser
influence, while the fulcrum of the neighborhood is Piazza Fontana, with
the octagonal fountain and a small obelisk in the centre. Larger
obelisk, coming from an ancient cemetery, occupies the central position
in Piazza Chiossi. Finally, the pointed arch with dark and white stripes
of Vicolo Andromia is characteristic.
Collegiate Church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio: a national
monument, the church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio was rebuilt between
1792 and 1798 to a design by the royal architect Matteo Zucchi, starting
from a pre-existing church dating back to the 15th century.
Sanctuary
of the Madonna della Neve: the Sanctuary dates back to the 17th century
and in the atrium there is a fresco, painted by Carlo Mellerio in 1674,
dedicated precisely to the miracle of the summer snowfall on the
Esquiline hill in Rome. The Church, damaged several times by the Bogna
stream in the past, preserves numerous valuable frescoes inside. These
include the painting Marriage of the Virgin attributed to the Florentine
painter Luigi Reali and the gilded and painted wooden altarpiece (which
contains the fourteenth-century fresco of the Madonna and Child), by
Francesco de Tatti.
The small church of San Quirico dates back to the
11th century and is one of the oldest in the Val d'Ossola.
In the
hamlet of Vagna, the church of San Brizio with a medieval bell tower and
valuable works of art inside
Silva Palace
A national monument, Palazzo Silva was restructured,
starting from a pre-existing fourteenth-century noble residence, around
1519 by the leader Paolo della Silva, a nobleman in the service of
Francis I of France. It is one of the best examples of a Renaissance
patrician house in the subalpine region. In 1882 the building was
purchased by the Galletti Foundation and subsequently sold to the
Municipality. It is now the seat of the Palazzo Silva Museum: in large
noble furnished rooms it houses wooden sculptures, marble coats of arms,
Etruscan and Roman finds, engravings, fragments of Egyptian mummies,
paintings from the 16th to the 18th century, Ossola costumes and armor.
Mellerio Palace
It owes its name to Count Giacomo Mellerio
(1777-1847), Grand Chancellor of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. In
1816, the count, a great benefactor, entrusted the construction of the
building to his brother-in-law, the architect Gian Luca della Somaglia,
with the intention of turning it into a high school complex. Inaugurated
on 5 November 1818, Mellerio founded the first gymnasium in Ossola in
this building. In 1837 the count gave the palace and the direction of
the gymnasium to the abbot Antonio Rosmini, who added a boarding school.
In 1874, when the schools and boarding school moved to the new
Mellerio-Rosmini college, opposite the Sanctuary of the Madonna della
Neve, the building was sold to the municipality. On the façade there is
still the Mellerio medallion and a bas-relief by Rosmini. The building,
which also housed the District Court, is now the seat of the Municipal
Police and municipal offices.
San Francesco Palace
Built on
the plan of an earlier church (dating back to the end of the 13th
century), it was purchased in 1884 by the Galletti Foundation, which
gathered its collections there. Thus was born the first part of what
would become the Museum of Palazzo San Francesco. Subsequently sold to
the Municipality, the restoration works are nearing completion. Now only
the ground floor can be visited with a collection of paintings by
painters from Vigezzo.
Mellerio-Rosmini College
Dedicated to
Blessed Antonio Rosmini, it stands in front of the Sanctuary of the
Madonna della Neve. The college, designed by the Ticino architect
Ghezzi, was inaugurated on 29 September 1874. It contains a very rich
library (about 60,000 volumes) and houses the Museum of Natural
Sciences, which can be visited upon request. The geophysical observatory
erected in 1876 is annexed to the college.
City Palace
Designed by the architect Giovanni Leoni of Turin and recently restored,
it was built in 1847. In 1944 it was the seat of the Provisional
Government Council of the partisan Republic of Ossola: nowadays the
municipal council meets in the Historical Hall of the Resistance. In the
internal courtyard of the building there is a plaque, which recalls the
conferment of the gold medal for military valor, conferred on the Val
d'Ossola in September 1945, for the resistance events culminating in the
significant episode of the liberated area. In 1899, the monument was
placed in front of the building, the work of Francesco Ricci (sculptor
from Vigezzo) dedicated to Gian Giacomo Galletti, the city's benefactor,
whose legacy gave birth to the Galletti Foundation.
International
station
The station was built when Domodossola entered into a railway
connection with Novara in 1888. The major expansion, designed by the
architect Luigi Boffi of Milan, took place in 1906, with the opening of
the Sempione tunnel. The stringcourse frame in Baveno granite and the
three finials, which rise respectively in the center (tricuspidate) and
at the ends (monocuspidate) of the body of the building, surmounted by
flagpoles which give considerable prominence to the imposing structure.
In the footsteps of Geo Chavez
Thanks to the Italian-Swiss
Interreg project "Geo Chavez, only one of many", financed on the
occasion of the centenary (2010) of the flight of the Alps, it is
possible to retrace what was the historic feat of the Peruvian aviator
Jorge Chávez Dartnell. On 23 September 1910 he took part in the Grand
Prix of the Crossing of the Alps: he departed from Brig, flew over the
Simplon pass and reached Domodossola, becoming the first flier of the
Alps; the aircraft, however, collapsed on landing. Seriously injured,
the pilot died in the San Biagio hospital a few days later. With the
intention of recalling the memory of this heroic enterprise, this
project was born, which, in addition to including various cultural
initiatives (exhibitions, demonstrations, theatrical performances) that
had already taken place, envisaged the creation of three main works:
redevelopment of Piazza Chavez in Domodossola with restoration of the
stone and the monument dedicated to him;
creation of a museum display
case in the courtyard of the "L. Milani" elementary school in Via
Rosmini, containing a reconstruction of the Blériot XI used by Chavez
with the original wing and some pieces of history of the local transport
system: the old Sempione, a sled, a car and a bicycle;
realization of
a Contemporary Art itinerary of 13 works, by international artists,
along the 50 kilometers of the Via del Sempione, between Domodossola and
Briga. Of these works, four are located in the city: Flying Dream by Uli
Wirz (near Palazzo San Francesco), A Dream by Kaarina Kaikkonen (Piazza
Cavour), To the one who is on his knife (Icaro Chavez) by Marco Magrini
(Via Guelfi ) and En plein air by Mario Airò (inside the Town Hall).
Even an area of the Sempion Museum is entirely dedicated to the aviator.
The Sacred Mount Calvary
The Sacred Mount Calvary of Domodossola
was built in 1657 by the will of the Capuchin friars Gioacchino da
Cassano and Andrea da Rho. In 2003 this extraordinary monumental complex
was included by UNESCO in the World Heritage List together with six
other Piedmontese Sacri Monti. The Sacro Monte di Domodossola is cared
for by the Rosminian fathers.
By train
All trains, including long-distance trains, stop at
Domodossola station as a border station.
By bus
The
Domodossola bus station is opposite the main entrance of the train
station, a little further south on the same street. Comazzi and VCO
trasporti buses run there, among others.
1 Market Every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. there is a street market in the village, with regional products (salami, cheese, vegetables, etc.) but also clothing.
1 Elena, Via Beltrami, 13, 28845 Domodossola. Tel: +39 0324 248534.
Italian restaurant. Open: Wed + Thu 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. + 4.30 p.m. – 1
a.m., Fri 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. + 4.30 p.m. – 2 a.m., Sat 8 a.m. – 2 a.m., Sun
8 a.m. – 2 p.m. + 4.30 p.m.
2 Trattoria La Motta, Piazza Fontana, 16,
28845 Domodossola. Tel: +39 0324 481041. Italian restaurant,
reservations recommended.
Bianco Roberto, Corso Paolo Ferraris, 53, 28845 Domodossola. Tel: +39 0324 243668.
Average prices
Eurossola Hotel Restaurant, Piazza G. Matteotti,
36, ☎ +39 0324 481326.
Hotel Domodossola, Via Giovanni XXIII, 93, ☎
+39 0324 260788.
Hotel Corona, Via Guglielmo Marconi, 8, ☎ +39 0324
242114.
B&B Dolce Casa, Via Guglielmo Marconi, 13, ☎ +39 347 652
8323.
B&B Villa Moro, Borgata Baceno, 50, ☎ +39 340 523 7069.
The city lies on the dejection fan of the Bogna stream, which extends between the hamlet of Mocogna and Sacro Monte Calvario, occupying the middle portion of the Toce river basin. The municipal area extends between 238 m s.l.m. and the 2,635 m s.l.m., for a total of 59.9 km².
The climate is alpine
with cold winters and mild summers.
Origins of the name
The Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century AD) is the first
to mention the city as the probable capital of the Leponzi, calling
it Oksela Lepontiorum. Joannes Georgius Graevius, in the Thesaurus
antiquitatum et historiarum Italiae: Ligurum et Insubrum, seu
Genuensium et Mediolanensium published in 1704, identifies
Domodossola as Ocella. In the 7th century the Anonymous from Ravenna
defines it as civitas and calls it Oxilla. Around the 11th century
the city took the name of Domus Oxile, in reference to the presence
of the collegiate church. In the 12th century, Burgus Domi and
Burgus Domi Ossule appear: the wording village derives from the
presence, as well as the collegiate church, also of the castle and
the market. The name subsequently changed to Domiossola, Ossola
Cathedral (Giovanni Capis), Domo d'Ossola in the nineteenth century
and, finally, into the current Domodossola.
From
prehistoric times to the twentieth century
The coppellonato
boulder in the gardens of the Rosminian Fathers at the Sacro Monte
Calvario, together with other artifacts found throughout the Ossola
Valley, suggests the presence of inhabitants in the valley since
prehistoric times. The Roman road that connected Milan to Verbano
passed from Oscella: from here it was possible to cross the Alps
reaching the Sempione pass, the Arbola pass or the San Giacomo pass.
The city stood at the intersection of Via Mediolanum-Verbannus,
with Via Antronesca which in the Domodossola - Locarno section also
took the name of Via del Mercato. It is probably during the reign of
Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, that the first defense works were
formed on the Mattarella hill. The Lombard dominion was very hard,
characterized by violence and looting; these are succeeded by the
Franks. Charlemagne, generous towards clergy and laity, revitalizes
feudalism: many territories are in the possession of the
bishop-count of Novara, who built his castle in Oscella (castrum
novum, mentioned in 1001). In 1014 the bishop Pietro III the Prudent
with a solemn diploma obtained the feudal dominion of Ossola.
The periodic raids of the Vallesani and the bitter fights
between Guelphs, mostly in the village, and Ghibellines force the
Ossolans to ask for protection from Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of
Milan: on March 19, 1381, the deed of dedication. The contract with
the Viscontis provided for protection and privileges for the
Ossolans, in exchange for a fee of 750 florins per year. The Sforza
(1450 - 1535) succeeded the Visconti.
On 9 May 1517 the peace
and treaty of Ponte Tresa establishes that Stabio and other lands of
Mendrisiotto belong to the twelve Swiss Cantons in exchange for
Domodossola. After the fall of Ludovico il Moro, Domodossola
underwent the Spanish domination which lasted for two centuries,
marked by infighting between the factions, the overflows of the
Bogna stream and the plague epidemics. In 1656 the Sacro Monte
Calvario was built by Andrea da Rho and Gioachino da Cassano, two
Capuchin friars from the convent of Domodossola. After a brief
Austrian domination, in 1743 with the Treaty of Worms Ossola passed
entirely to the Savoy family.
With Vittorio Emanuele I in
1818 Domodossola became the capital of the province of Ossola, in
the Novara division, with a first class head-guard in Domodossola
and a second-class head guard in Masera. In 1859, with the enactment
of the Rattazzi decree, the province of Ossola was suppressed and
the district of Ossola (later the district of Domodossola) was
established, as a subdivision of the province of Novara, including
the districts of Crodo, S. Maria Maggiore, Bannio and Domodossola.
In 1869, the domese section of the Italian Alpine Club was
opened among the first in Italy.
The twentieth century
On
19 May 1906, King Vittorio Emanuele III inaugurated the Simplon
tunnel: with this work Domodossola and the whole of Ossola became
one of the most important routes for European international traffic.
On 23 September 1910, the city was the scene of the tragic landing
of Jorge Chávez Dartnell, known as Geo Chávez, the first flyer in
the Alps. The Peruvian aviator, who left Brig, flies over the
Simplon pass, but the plane is landing in Domodossola, it gives way
and falls. Seriously injured, the pilot died at the San Biagio
hospital a few days later.
Gradually the prosperity in the valley grows and the industries
and hydroelectric plants that offer work and progressively attract
migrants in particular from Veneto, Romagna and Calabria increase.
The First World War, however, required the sacrifice of human lives,
which also cost Ossola dearly.
In 1926 the district of
Domodossola was suppressed and the territory assigned to the
district of Novara. In 1927, with the suppression of all the Italian
districts, the territory remained in the Province of Novara.
During the Second World War the valley did not remain indifferent to
the fascist dictatorship. The liberation movements cause Domodossola
to become the capital of the partisan republic of Ossola from 10
September to 23 October 1944, which proclaimed itself independent
from dictatorial rule during the Resistance. During the 43 days, the
liberated territory is managed democratically by the provisional
government council, which meets at the Town Hall. The junta is
chaired by Ettore Tibaldi and includes, among others, the Milanese
Gisella Floreanini, in the role of Assistance Commissioner.
Floreanini is thus the first woman to hold government posts in
Italy.
In the 1950s - 1960s the city was marked by a constant
migratory flow. The migrants, mostly from Calabria, settle in a
neighborhood, called by the toponym of Abyssinia. The district then,
with the arrival of the Capuchin friars, in particular of Father
Michelangelo Falcioni, the spiritual father of the district, is
transformed into a Capuchin.
In 1992 Val d'Ossola, Cusio and
Verbano split from the province of Novara. Domodossola thus becomes
part of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.
Health facilities
The city hospital is the San Biagio hospital,
dating back to before 1245, which constitutes, together with the
"Castelli" hospital of Verbania, the Single Multisede Hospital of the
ASL VCO.
Institutions, organizations and associations
Domodossola is home to:
of the branch section of the Court of
Verbania;
of the provincial offices of sectors III (Mountain
Agricultural Policies, Wildlife Protection, Provincial Police) and IV
(Public Works, Roads, Cycle Paths);
of the Civil Motorization and the
Public Vehicle Register of the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Alpini
The Domodossola Section of the Alpini has been active since
1923. There are two Gold Medals: Silvestro Curotti (Alpine Partisan
Gunner who fell during the War of Liberation at Oira di Nonio on Lake
Orta on 3 June 1944) and Attilio Bagnolini (who fell at Passo Mecan (Mai
Ceu) on 31 March 1936 during the Ethiopian war).
Blood donors
The municipal section of Domodossola of the Italian Blood Volunteer
Association (also known as AVIS Ossolana) is active. The office is
located in the SIT halls of the San Biagio hospital.
Bone marrow
donors
The D.O.M.O. association is active. (Oxolane bone marrow
donors). The office is located in the SIT halls of the San Biagio
hospital.
CAI
The section of the Italian Alpine Club called
SEO-CAI (Ossolan excursion society) is active.
Weapon
associations
Various weapon associations are active: the Giovanni
Battista Scapaccino section of the National Carabinieri Association with
headquarters at the Casa delle Associazioni in via Paolo Silva, the
section of the National Association of the State Police with
headquarters at the traffic police and the section of the National
Association of Financiers of Italy. The headquarters of the latter are
located in Geo Chavez Square.
University
The Association for the development of culture,
university studies and research in Verbano Cusio Ossola offers courses
in Computer Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Nursing, Physiotherapy,
Tourism and Chemistry. The headquarters in Domodossola is at the
"Collegio Mellerio Rosmini".
Museums
The Museum of Palazzo
Silva collects wooden works, Etruscan and Roman finds, fragments of
Egyptian mummies, engravings, Ossola costumes and weapons.
The Museum
of Palazzo San Francesco houses paintings by local painters and a
section dedicated to temporary exhibitions.
The Sempion Museum
contains a reconstruction of part of the Simplon tunnel, period
photographs and numerous other exhibits.
The Natural Sciences Museum
of the Mellerio Rosmini College collects animals, insects, plants and
minerals.
The historical room of the Resistance, located in the
council chamber of the Town Hall, collects period photographs and
documents relating to the most emblematic episodes of the Ossola
Resistance.
The "Don Carlo Righini" Museum of the Alpine troops from
Ossola collects relics and testimonies of the history of the Alpine
troops and in particular those from Ossola.
Library
Civic
Library "G. Contini"
Cinema
The RAI TV-film "Forty days of
freedom", directed by Leandro Castellani, tells the story of the
short-lived partisan Republic of Ossola. Furthermore, in 2005, the film
"Buss till Italien" by Swedish director Daniel Lind Lagerlöf was filmed
in Domodossola.
Music
The Civico Corpo Musicale, established
in 1868, carries out its musical activity led by maestro Giorgio Coppi
and by the president Arcangelo Menna.
The Musical Chapel of the Sacro
Monte Calvario carries out musical activity, both liturgical and
concert, in the sanctuary of the SS. Crucifix at S. Monte and in the
Parish of Calice. Established in 1995, it brings together the activities
of the Schola Gregoriana del S. Monte Calvario (1995), the Corale di
Calice (1974), the Camerata Strumentale di S. Quirico (1989), the
Convivio Rinascimentale (1997) and the Chamber Orchestra of the Musical
Chapel of S. Monte Calvario in Domodossola (2003).
In mass
culture
The city of Domodossola is conventionally associated with the
letter "D" in the Italian telephone alphabet. Its use has become famous
thanks to Mike Bongiorno who regularly quoted the "D of Domodossola" in
his television quizzes, above all The Wheel of Fortune.
Townships
This is the complete list of the villages according to
the Municipal Statute of Domodossola:
Alla Fraccia, Andosso, Anzuno,
Asparedo, Bacenetto, Baceno, Barro, Campei, Campione, Campoccio Dentro,
Campoccio Fuori, Casa delle Rane, Case Lazzaro, Case Pioda, Castanedo,
Castelluccio, Cimavilla, Cisore, Corte, Croppo, Crosiggia, Cruppi , Gabi
Valle, Maggianigo, Monsignore, Monteossolano, Monticchio, Motto, Motto
Mattarella, Piccioni, Prata, Prebletto, Pregliasca, Premone, Quana,
Quartero, Rogoledo, Ronchetto, Sacro Monte Calvario, Sala, San Quirico,
Tagliaroli, Torcelli, Torre Mattarella , Trontana, Vallesone, Valsorda,
Vauza, Zoncalina.
In 1865 the municipality of Domodossola
incorporated the former municipality of Cisore, in 1867 that of Calice
Ossolano, in 1928 that of Vagna and in 1959 Monteossolano, separating it
from the municipality of Bognanco.
Economy
Domodossola is the
nerve center of the Ossola valley and constitutes the reference point of
the Ossola valleys (Anzasca valley, Antrona valley, Bognanco valley,
Divedro valley, Antigorio valley, Formazza valley, Isorno valley, and
Vigezzo valley).
The economy developed in the past thanks to the
secondary sector: iron and steel, mechanical and steel industries
dominated the scene throughout the 20th century. In the same years, the
construction of dams and hydroelectric plants in the surrounding areas
supported industrial development by offering the energy necessary for
processing; the existence of hydroelectric plants has provided
employment for hundreds of workers in the energy sector. The proximity
to Switzerland and the opening of the Simplon tunnel have also given a
significant boost to the development of trade.
Currently the role
of the secondary is limited, although the stone industry remains both
quarrying and processing. Domodossola has in fact taken on a cultural,
tourist and commercial vocation in recent years, thanks also to its
proximity to places of naturalistic attraction (Alpe Veglia and Alpe
Devero Natural Park, Sacro Monte Calvario di Domodossola, Val Grande
National Park) and ski resorts (Domobianca, San Domenico di Varzo).
As far as craftsmanship is concerned, the local manufacturing of
wrought iron is important, aimed above all at the production of
furniture.
Ski
Originally from Pallanzeno, but born in Domodossola is
Massimiliano Blardone, who reached the podium 25 times in the Alpine
Skiing World Cup. The champion's training place was also the Domobianca
domese ski resort. It consists of 12 slopes (1 easy, 7 medium and 4
difficult), a total of 21 km long, which wind along the north-eastern
side of Moncucco (1896 m a.s.l.). The ski resort can be reached from the
city centre, taking the road up to 1080 m a.s.l. of Alpe Lusentino. One
of the local grass skiers, Riccardo Lorenzone, competed for the World
Cup. The city is the seat of the provincial committee of the Italian
Winter Sports Federation.
Cycling
Domodossola was the finish
line of a stage of the Giro d'Italia twice, the first in 1985, the last
in 2006.
Soccer
The main city stadium, dedicated to the Alpine
"Silvestro Curotti", is municipal and has a capacity of 1500 seats. The
soccer field in the "Nosere" region and many fractional pitches are also
municipal. Domese football club is Juventus Domo.
Basketball
In attendance is the team from the U.S. Rosmini basketball participating
in the DNB championship at the gymnasium of the Giorgio Spezia high
school. While the Domodossola basketball team participates in the
regional promotion championship.
Table tennis
The TT Ossola
2000 is the sports association of the city which trains and participates
in regional and national competitions at the gymnasium of the state
middle school (plexus in via Terracini).
Target shooting
In
the Nosere area there is the section of the Italian Shooting Union.