Vercelli: Museums, Churches and Rice Fields

Vercelli Between Museums and Religious Buildings

Vercelli combines different approaches to culture and landscape. If you are interested in archaeology, architecture and religious art, you will find several independent sites here with clearly recognisable historical references. The MAC, the Archaeological Museum of the City of Vercelli, is housed in the former Santa Chiara convent. Its tour begins with an animated digital hologram of Apollo, creating a distinctive focal point right from the start.

Architecture with Visible Layers of History

ARCA houses a modern glass-and-steel structure that preserves and enhances the surrounding historic architecture. ARCA was created by converting the medieval church of San Marco. For your visit, this creates a direct contrast between contemporary construction and a medieval religious building, without requiring the two aspects to be considered separately.

The Synagogue of Vercelli is also one of the city’s notable cultural sites: it is considered one of the most important examples of a post-ghetto-period synagogue in Europe. The Abbey of Sant’Andrea preserves a splendid portico with terracotta frames and 14th-century paintings. Together, the two sites add different forms of religious architecture and design to the picture of Vercelli.

Cathedral and Cathedral Treasury

The Cathedral of Sant’Eusebio contains a silver crucifix dating from the 10th century. A second phase of rebuilding the cathedral began in 1570. The Museum of the Cathedral Treasury is housed in the archbishop’s palace. If you would like to experience religious art not only through individual buildings but also through preserved objects and collections, these three points of interest can be combined into a distinct cultural focus.

Rice Fields and a Route with a Rural Character

The “Risaie Ciclabili No. 1” route follows unpaved paths through farmsteads and rice fields, which provide a habitat for numerous bird species. This aspect of Vercelli is therefore suited to travellers who want to consider not only cultural sites but also an open landscape and a route shaped by agriculture. The surroundings of the rice fields form the specific landscape setting of the route described.

The final section of the “Risaie Ciclabili No. 1” route returns to the starting point via the cycle paths along Corso Palestro and Corso Italia. Vercelli is also located on the Milan–Turin railway line. When planning your trip, you can therefore consider cultural visits, the rice-field landscape and the rail connection as different factors in your travel decision.

Choose Accommodation According to Your Interests

When choosing your hotel in Vercelli, you can first decide which themes should shape your trip: the MAC and its opening with the Apollo hologram, ARCA and San Marco, the Synagogue, Sant’Andrea and Sant’Eusebio, or the route through farmsteads and rice fields. This means Vercelli remains open as a destination both for a cultural stay and for a plan in which the described landscape and cycling play a role.

More places for planning your trip: Borgosesia, Piode, Fobello, Balmuccia, Rima, Livorno Ferraris, Trino, Motta Dè Conti

To the higher-level travel overview: Vercelli.