Tornaco: Villa Marzoni, Museums and Rural Paths

Villa Marzoni and the History of the Town

Tornaco brings together several historical traces. Villa Marzoni stands on a natural rise atop the remains of the keep of a 15th-century castle. Engineer Luigi Marzoni had the stately villa built in 1896. Thus, the memory of a castle and the architecture of the late 19th century meet in this place – a clear focus for your cultural exploration.

Architectural Details and Medieval Traces

The original architectural features of Villa Marzoni have been preserved on its inner façades, including arches on columns in the area of the first above-ground floor. A surviving section of wall is presumably part of the fortification wall. It features an entrance arch and possibly the extensively remodeled element of a tower. If you view architecture not only through its grand forms, these individual details offer a particularly close approach to Tornaco’s architectural past.

Church and Oratorio di Santo Stefano

The parish church of Santa Maria Maddalena completes the historical picture with origins dating back to the 12th century. Outside the built-up area, the Oratorio di Santo Stefano is located along the road to Vignarello. For your cultural orientation, this creates a link from sacred history in the town to a smaller religious building in a rural setting.

Percorso 5 between Avenue and Country Lane

After a section along an unpaved road and a poplar-lined avenue, Percorso 5 passes the Oratorio di Santo Stefano on its way to Tornaco. The sequence of country lane, poplar avenue, Oratorio and destination particularly appeals to visitors who wish to combine historical themes with impressions of the rural surroundings. At the same time, it gives you a concrete spatial impression of how the Oratorio is situated within its environment.

Springs and Restored Natural Areas

Fontana Valbordone is a risorgiva, that is, a groundwater spring where the riverside vegetation has been restored. Campo del Buschitt is municipal land that served as an animal cemetery until the 1980s and is now being restored through the planting of native species. Both places make visible the connection between the natural environment, local history and careful restoration, without requiring a purely architectural view of Tornaco.

Museum in Villa Marzoni

Villa Marzoni houses the Museo della Civiltà e Cultura della Bassa Novarese. Its Sala Miniature contains functioning miniature agricultural machines. The cultural range therefore extends from the villa’s architectural traces to an illustrative presentation of agricultural technology. This aspect may be particularly interesting to you if you wish to explore history through concrete working environments and regional everyday culture.

The MUDI as a Museum in Public Space

The MUDI is an open-air museum dedicated to the world of rice and the mondine, the women workers in the rice fields. The MUDI features large-format reproductions of works of art on the exterior walls of residential buildings. Visitors can view these reproductions as they walk through the streets. This combines an exploration of rice culture and the mondine with a tour through the inhabited space and adds a distinctive accent alongside the villa, church and Oratorio.

Further Places for Orientation

Pella, Divignano, Borgo Ticino, Casaleggio Novara, Paruzzaro, Fontaneto D'agogna, Meina, Barengo

For the broader travel overview: Novara.