San Nazzaro Sesia

San Nazzaro Sesia ( Piedmontese La Badia ) is a municipality with 694 inhabitants (as at 31 December 2012) in the Italian province of Novara (NO ), Region Piedmont.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 11 km ². The neighboring municipalities are Albano Vercelli, Biandrate Casalbeltrame, Casalvolone, Greggio, Oldenico, Recetto and Villata.

Abbazia dei Santi Nazario e Celso

The monastery (Italian: Abbazia dei Santi Nazario e Celso ) was founded by Bishop Ruperto from Biandrate 1040. 1223, in the wars between Vercelli and Novara, it was burned down, but was rebuilt on the orders of Emperor Frederick II again ( the Novareser Bishops were notoriously rich -scattering ). 1429-1450, the buildings were converted partly Gothic. Since 1960 there has been a thorough restoration.

Is the original structure almost intact is the rectangular fortifications of the monastery behind moats and a gate tower with four round corner towers, one of which is expanded as a dungeon. The valley is dominated by a powerful system Romanesque campanile, still the first built in around 1040 and has consulted with its embrasure -like windows extremely warlike.

From the Romanesque original building of the monastery church the right and the left aisle of the basilica remained standing while the nave has disappeared until 4 yoke. The west wall dates from around 1450 and shows a clear terracotta ornament.

The cloister was built from 1480 to 1500. The cycle of frescoes showing scenes from the life of St. Benedict. The style is very narrative, with many individualized single figures, landscapes, castles and interiors. It contains a fresco of a knight armed men in an illusionistic architectural framework created around 1510.