Vercelli

Vercellae (or Vercelum) was the capital of the Libici or Lebecili, a Ligurian tribe; it became an important municipium, near which Gaius Marius defeated the Cimbri and the Teutones in the Battle of Vercellae in 101 BC.

The imperial magister militum Flavius Stilicho annihilated the Goths there 500 years later. It was half-ruined in St. Jerome's time (olim potens, nunc raro habitatore semiruta (1, 3.1)). After the Lombard invasion it belonged to the Duchy of Ivrea. From 885 it was under the jurisdiction of the prince-bishop, who was a Count of the Empire.

It became an independent commune in 1120 and joined the first and second Lombard leagues. Its statutes are among the most interesting of those of the medieval republics. In 1197 they abolished the servitude of the glebe. In 1228 the University of Pavia was transferred to Vercelli, where it remained until the fourteenth century, but without gaining much prominence; only a university school of law has been maintained.

In 1307, Fra Dolcino, the leader of the Dulcinians, was tortured and burned at the stake.

During the troubles of the 13th century, it fell into the power of the Della Torre of Milan (1263), of the Marquesses of Monferrato (1277), who appointed Matteo I Visconti captain (1290–1299). The Tizzoni (Ghibellines) and Avogadri (Guelphs) disputed the city from 1301 to 1334. The Guelphs were expelled several times, enabling the Marquess of Monferrato to take Vercelli (1328), which voluntarily placed itself under the Viscount of Milan in 1334. In 1373, Bishop Giovanni Fieschi expelled the Visconti, but Matteo reconquered the city. Facino Cane (1402), profiting by the strife between Giovanni Maria and Filippo Maria Visconti, took Vercelli, but was driven out by Theodore II of Montferrat (1404), from whom the city passed to the dukes of Savoy (1427).

In 1499 and 1553 Vercelli was captured by the French, and in 1616 and 1678 by the Spaniards. In 1704 it sustained an energetic siege by the French, who failed to destroy the fortress, after which it shared the fortunes of Savoy. In 1821 Vercelli rose in favour of the Constitution.

{{See also|List of mayors of Vercelli}}

Vercelli is home to numerous relics of the Roman period, e.g. an amphitheatre, hippodrome, sarcophagi, and many important inscriptions, some of which are Christian.

There are seven noteworthy towers in the town, the most important are the Torre dell’Angelo, which rears up over the old market square, and the Torre di Città in Via Gioberti.

File:Vercelli-Santandrea.jpg

Vercelli Cathedral, formerly adorned with precious pillars and mosaics, was erected and enlarged by Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, to whom it was dedicated after his death. It was remodelled as of the ninth century and radically changed in the eighteenth by Count Alfieri. Like the other churches in the city, it contains valuable paintings, especially those of Gaudenzio Ferrari, Gerolamo Giovenone and Bernardino Lanino, who were natives of Vercelli.

The cathedral's Capitulary Library contains valuable manuscripts. Its religious texts include the Codex Vercellensis, an evangeliarium of the fourth century; hagiographical manuscripts, not all of which have been critically examined; and a very old copy of the Imitation of Christ, which is relied upon as an argument for attributing the authorship to John Gersen. Its secular texts include the Novels of Justinian; and the 8th-century Leges Langobardorum (Laws of the Lombards - Germanic). Finally, it contains the famous Vercelli Book — an Old English manuscript which includes the celebrated alliterative poem The Dream of the Rood. The civil archives are not less important and contain documents dating from 882.

The Basilica di Sant'Andrea was erected by Cardinal Guala Bicchieri in 1219. Together with the old Cistercian monastery, it is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved Romanesque monuments in Italy. Among other noteworthy churches in the city is the Santa Maria Maggiore.

Vercelli's synagogue, an example of Moorish Revival architecture, is located at Via Foà 70 and the city's Jewish cemetery at Corso Randaccio 24.{{cite web |title=Jewish Cemeteries |url=http://www.jewishitaly.org/detail.asp?ID=188 |publisher=Chabad Travel Guide |access-date=12 January 2013}} On 23 November 2013, after what was believed to be an antisemitic act, two swastikas were found sprayed on its walls.{{cite web |title=Vercelli, svastiche sul cimitero ebraico L'incursione è stata compiuta nella notte |url=http://www.unionesarda.it/Articoli/Articolo/295831 |publisher=L'UNIONE SARDA.it |access-date=12 January 2013}}

The Institute of the Beaux-Arts contains paintings by Vercellese artists.

Ancient charitable institutions continue, such as the hospital founded by Cardinal Guala Bicchieri (1224), which has an annual revenue of more than 600,000 lire ($117,000); and the hospices for orphan girls (1553) and for boys (1542), and mendicant homes.

Vercelli is the seat of the Viotti International Music Competition.

In 2007, 44,475 people were recorded as residing in Vercelli, of whom 47.3% were male and 52.7% were female. Minors (children aged 18 and younger) totalled 14.41% of the population and pensioners 25.83%; the overall national averages are, respectively, 18.06% and 19.94%. The average age of a Vercelli resident was 47 (five years more than the national average of 42) and the birth rate was 8.69 births per 1,000 inhabitants (national average of 9.45 births per 1,000 inhabitants). In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Vercelli declined by 1.31% while the national population grew by 3.56%.{{br-separated entries| {{cite web |url=http://demo.istat.it/bil2002/index.html |title=Statistiche demografiche ISTAT (2002) |website=demo.istat.it |access-date=}} | {{cite web |url=http://demo.istat.it/bil2007/index.html |title=Statistiche demografiche ISTAT (2007) |website=demo.istat.it |access-date=}}}}

{{As of|2006}}, 92.38% of the population was Italian. The remainder were Albanian and Romanian (3.48%), North African (2.21%) and Sub-Saharan (0.64%). Approximately 1 in 6 babies born in Vercelli has at least one foreign parent.{{cite web |url=http://demo.istat.it/str2006/index.html |title=Statistiche demografiche ISTAT (2006) |website=demo.istat.it |access-date=23 March 2018}}

{{Historical populations|1861|25103|1871|27101|1881|29244|1901|30470|1911|31926|1921|32159|1931|38581|1936|38956|1951|42159|1961|50907|1971|56494|1981|52488|1991|49458|2001|45132|2011|46308|2021|45176|footnote=Source: ISTAT|cols=2|align=none}}

• Museo Camillo Leone{{cite web |url=http://www.museoleone.it/ |title=Museo Leone Vercelli {{!}} Home |work=www.museoleone.it |date= |access-date=}}
• Museo Francesco Borgogna

{{see also|Category:People from Vercelli}}

File:Giovanni Antonio Bazzi.jpg]]

• Eusebius of Vercelli (ca.283 – 371) first bishop in Vercelli (mid 340's) and counts as a saint.
• Atto II of Vercelli (ca.885–961), a Lombard, became bishop of Vercelli in 924.
• William of Montevergine (1085–1142), a wanderer, ascetic and founder of a number of monastic houses.
• Guala Bicchieri (ca.1150 – 1227) diplomat, papal official and cardinal.
• Emilia Bicchieri (1238–1314) Roman Catholic nun from the Order of Preachers
• Fra Dolcino (ca.1250 – 1307) second leader of the Dulcinian reformist movement, burned at the stake.
• Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (1477–1549), also known as Il Sodoma, a Renaissance painter.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Sodoma, Il | volume= 25 |last= Rossetti | first= William Michael |author-link= William Michael Rossetti | page = 343 |short= 1}}
• Francesco Antonio Vallotti (1697–1780) composer, music theorist and organist.
• Giacomo Abbondo (1720–1788), Roman Catholic priest, beatified in 2015.
• Eusebio Bava (1790–1854) army general who fought in the First Italian War of Independence.
• Edoardo Arborio Mella (1808–1884), architect, restorer and scholar.
• Angelo Agostini (1843–1910), illustrator, journalist and the first Brazilian cartoonist.
• Luigi Galleani (1861–1931), anarchist in the US; advocated propaganda of the deed
• Lucia Contini Anselmi (1876-after 1913), pianist and composer.
• Ennio Baiardi (1928–2014) politician, Mayor of Vercelli, 1975 to 1983
• Fiorenza Cossotto (born 1935), operatic mezzo-soprano.
• Angelo Gilardino (1941–2022), composer and classical guitarist.
• Anita Caprioli (born 1973), theatre and film actress.

File:Virginio Rosetta 1932.jpg, 1932]]

• Marcello Bertinetti (1885–1967), fencer, team gold medallist at the 1908, 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics
• Virginio Rosetta (1902–1975) footballer with 423 club caps and 52 for Italy
• Pietro Ferraris (1912–1991), footballer with 533 club caps and 14 for Italy
• Silvio Piola (1913–1996), footballer with 619 club caps and 34 for Italy
• Teobaldo Depetrini (1914–1996), footballer with over 450 club caps and 12 for Italy
• Franco Bertinetti (1923–1995), fencer, team gold medallist at the 1952 & 1956 Summer Olympics
• Elisabetta Perrone (born 1968) race walker and multiple medallist
• Giovanni Pellielo (born 1970) sport shooter and four-time Olympic medallist in the trap
• Vittorio Mero (1974–2002), footballer with over 200 club caps
• Moise Kean (born 2000), footballer with over 100 club caps so far and 12 for Italy

The typical dish is rice with beans, called panissa (made with Arborio, Baldo or Maratelli rice), the tartufata (cake) and the bicciolani a type of biscuit. The typical wine is Gattinara DOCG, a classic red wine of Piedmont made principally from the nebbiolo grape (known locally as spanna) from the comune of Gattinara, where there is archaeological evidence of vines being grown in Roman times.

Unione Sportiva Pro Vercelli was one of the most successful football clubs in Italy in the early 20th century, winning the national championship seven times between 1908 and 1922. However, in the summer of 2010, it was not admitted to the league due to heavy debt.

A.S. Pro Belvedere Vercelli continued the history of the club and changed its name to F.C. Pro Vercelli 1892. Currently, it plays in Serie C.

• {{flagicon|FRA}} Arles, France
• {{flagicon|ESP}} Tortosa, Spain

{{Weather box|width=auto

|metric first=y

|single line=y

|collapsed = Y

|location = Vercelli (1991–2020)

|Jan high C = 7.2

|Feb high C = 10.1

|Mar high C = 15.3

|Apr high C = 19.0

|May high C = 23.2

|Jun high C = 27.5

|Jul high C = 29.4

|Aug high C = 28.6

|Sep high C = 24.2

|Oct high C = 18.2

|Nov high C = 11.9

|Dec high C = 7.4

| year high C =

|Jan mean C = 2.7

|Feb mean C = 4.5

|Mar mean C = 8.9

|Apr mean C = 13.4

|May mean C = 17.9

|Jun mean C = 21.9

|Jul mean C = 23.5

|Aug mean C = 22.6

|Sep mean C = 18.2

|Oct mean C = 13.1

|Nov mean C = 7.7

|Dec mean C = 3.2

| year mean C =

|Jan low C = -1.9

|Feb low C = -1.2

|Mar low C = 2.5

|Apr low C = 7.9

|May low C = 12.7

|Jun low C = 16.3

|Jul low C = 17.6

|Aug low C = 16.7

|Sep low C = 12.1

|Oct low C = 8.0

|Nov low C = 3.4

|Dec low C = -0.9

| year low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 45.4

|Feb precipitation mm = 50.4

|Mar precipitation mm = 52.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 84.0

|May precipitation mm = 96.7

|Jun precipitation mm = 60.7

|Jul precipitation mm = 55.4

|Aug precipitation mm = 66.7

|Sep precipitation mm = 80.3

|Oct precipitation mm = 76.5

|Nov precipitation mm = 116.1

|Dec precipitation mm = 56.7

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 5.0

| Feb precipitation days = 4.2

| Mar precipitation days = 4.5

| Apr precipitation days = 7.7

| May precipitation days = 8.5

| Jun precipitation days = 6.0

| Jul precipitation days = 4.9

| Aug precipitation days = 5.8

| Sep precipitation days = 5.8

| Oct precipitation days = 7.0

| Nov precipitation days = 8.1

| Dec precipitation days = 5.1

| year precipitation days =

|source 1 = Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230917192649/https://valori-climatici-normali.isprambiente.it/

| archive-date = 17 September 2023

| url = https://valori-climatici-normali.isprambiente.it/

| title = Valori climatici normali in Italia

| publisher=Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale

| access-date = 29 June 2024}}

}}

• Communes of the Province of Vercelli

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.archeovercelli.it/serv.html#INIZIO Vercelli] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205010226/http://www.archeovercelli.it/serv.html#INIZIO |date=2012-02-05 }} is a short article in English on the history and archaeology of the town from [http://www.archeovercelli.it archeovercelli.it], the site of the Gruppo Archeologico Vercellese.
• [http://www.dumsinandi.com/ dumsinandi.com] presents the Divine Comedy in English, Italian and vercellese, the local Piedmontese dialect.

{{Commons|Vercelli}}

• [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15348b.htm Vercelli]
• Macadam, Alta (1997). Blue Guide. Northern Italy: from the Alps to Bologna. London: A & C Black. {{ISBN|0-7136-4294-7}}.
• {{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle= Archdiocese of Vercelli |volume= 15 |last= Benigni |first= Umberto |author-link= Umberto Benigni ||short= 1}}
• [http://www.museoborgogna.it Museo Borgogna]
• [http://www.tesorodelduomovc.it Museo del Tesoro del Duomo]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051223004917/http://www.provincia.vercelli.it/musei/musei/m_leone.htm Museo Camillo Leone]
• [http://www.agraria.org/vini/gattinara.htm Vini Italiani DOCG: Gattinara DOCG]
• [http://www.risomaratelli.it Riso Maratelli]

{{Province of Vercelli}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Roman towns and cities in Italy

Category:21st-century attacks on Jewish institutions

Category:Cities and towns in Piedmont