Novara di Sicilia
Novara di Sicilia | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Novara di Sicilia | |
Novara di Sicilia cityscape | |
Novara di Sicilia Location of Novara di Sicilia in Italy Novara di Sicilia Novara di Sicilia (Sicily) | |
| Coordinates: 38°1′N 15°8′E / 38.017°N 15.133°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sicily |
| Metropolitan city | Messina (ME) |
| Frazioni | San Basilio, San Marco, Vallancazza, Piano Vigna, Badia Vecchia |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Girolamo Bertolami |
| Area | |
• Total | 48.8 km2 (18.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 650 m (2,130 ft) |
| Population (30 November 2011)[2] | |
• Total | 1,414 |
| • Density | 29.0/km2 (75.0/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Novaresi |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 98058 |
| Dialing code | 0941 |
| Patron saint | Assumption of Mary, St. Hugh Abbot |
| Saint day | August 15 and 16 |
| Website | Official website |
Novara di Sicilia is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Messina in Sicily, Italy.
Toponymy
The earliest known name of the area was Noa, a Sicani word for fallow field. The name later evolved to Nouah and then Novara. The attribute ‘di Sicilia’ was added to distinguish it from the city of the same name in Piedmont.[3]
History
There is archaeological evidence of Mesolithic habitation. Pliny mentions the Roman city of Noa, and its inhabitants the Noeni.[4]
Lombards settled there in 1061–72. During the time of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, in 1171 Hugh of Châteaneuf founded the Abbey of Santa Maria Nucaria. In the 1200s a castle was built by Roger of Lauria.[4]
The lands passed to the Palizzis and then in 1364 to Vinciguerra d’Aragona. In 1641 the fief was granted to the wife of Marcantonio Colonna.[4]
The village peaked in the 1600s with the development of a dense network of alleys and lanes, and the considerable array of decorative elements on the houses, carved in local sandstone, cipollino, and marble.[4]
Geography
It is about 160 kilometres (99 mi) east of Palermo and some 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Messina. It borders the following municipalities: Fondachelli-Fantina, Francavilla di Sicilia, Mazzarrà Sant'Andrea, Rodì Milici, Tripi. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").[5]
References
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat.
- ^ "Novara di Sicilia". Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Novara di Sicilia | Città metropolitana di Messina". visitme.comune.messina.it. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ^ "Sicilia" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
External links
- Official website (in Italian)