Pella: Historic Sites and Trails at Lake Orta
Accommodation in Pella
Buildings and History in Pella
The Ponte sul Pellino is an arched bridge dating from 1578 and bears the inscription “Magrioha-ninusde rugis fecit”. The Ponte sul Pellino 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. The complex is surrounded by fourteen chapels dating from 1794 that depict the Stations of the Cross. The San Filiberto complex also includes a Romanesque bell tower dated to between 1075 and 1110. 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, which 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 the granite processing that was once the predominant trade of the area's population.
A single tower from Pella's medieval defensive system has been preserved on the lakeside promenade near Piazza Motta. The tower is privately owned and visible from the outside. Pella's covered washhouse was supplied by the Pellino and was used by the village's women for washing clothes when storms or rain prevented them from going to the lakeshore.
The parish church Chiesa Parrocchiale di Sant'Albino in Pella has a granite lintel bearing the year of construction, 1591. To the right of the entrance is Perraccino's painting “La Presentazione”. The Oratorio di San Giulio, also called Natività di Maria Santissima, is a small church in the forest of the hamlet of Ronco Sopra. The Chiesa di San Defendente in Ronco Sotto is a historical testament to the movement of artists along the old mule track between Valsesia or Colma and the lake.
Routes and Destinations Around 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.
Isola San Giulio is an island in the vicinity of Pella. Monte Trevigno is a peak in the vicinity of Pella. Monte Piogera and Monte Vesso are peaks in the area around Pella. Museo Meina, Arteadarona and the Museo Archeologico are museums in the area around Pella. The Museo “Come Eravamo” is a museum in the wider regional area around Pella.
Further destinations for planning your trip: Pettenasco, Lesa, Armeno, Miasino, Orta San Giulio, Massino Visconti
To the higher-level travel overview: Novara.
