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Italy : Region Piedmont : Province Torino : Comune Ivrea

Ivrea (VB)

Region Piedmont, Italy

An ancient town rich of history and art, Ivrea rises along the Dora Baltea river, one of the main tributaries of the Po river. The original settlement and the ancient part are along the left bank, whereas a recent urban expansion occupies prevalently lands along the right bank, all around the Olivetti Industrial plants.

Info: Altitude: 253 m a.s.l -- Surface area: sq km -- Population: ca. 25000 inhabitants -- Population density: inhabitants per sq km -- Zip/postal code: 10015 -- Phone Area Code: 0125 -- Patron Saint: San Savino celebrated on 7 July -- Frazioni & Località: Torre Balfredo -- GPS Coordinates: -- Useful Links: official website of the Comune of Ivrea

HISTORY:
On the site there was a Celtic settlement, then when the Romans conquered Lombardy in the 2nd century BC they established here the town of Eporedia, which in 397 AD became the seat of a bishopric. After the fall of the western Roman empire in 476, Ivrea was first a Languebard Dukedom, them a Frankish countdom an 889 became the capital of the Marca D'Ivrea. In 1170 it was one of the towns that allied in the Lombard League against the Emperor. In the 13th century it came under the rule of the Monferrato Marquis, who in 1356 sold it to the Savoy family.

WHAT TO SEE:

The Castle, begun by Duke Amadeus VI Savoy in 1358, originally consisted of a square plan with four round towers at the corners, joined by walls that enclosed a wide inner courtyard; in the 17th century it was used as a prison;
The Cathedral, built in the 10th century on the site of a previous Roman temple to Apollo. Of the original Romanesque Cathedral the only extant remains are a crypt and two of the bell towers of the apses. Under the porch there is the sarcophagus of quaestor Caius Atecius Valerius, of the 1st century BC, and inside 3 fine paintings: a "Madonna e Santi" by Beaumont, the "Adorazione del Bambino" (1521) and a Nativity (1519) both by Defendente Ferrari;
the Seminary, designed by Filippo Juvarra in the early 18th century, preserving in the inner courtyard a fragment of the ancient mosaic floor of the Cathedral;
Remains of the Roman amphitheater, originally 97 m. long and 72 wide;
The Church of San Bernardino, of the latter half of the 15th century, built in honor of the Franciscan preacher from Siena, who stayed for a time in Ivrea, establishing also a monastery; inside it is possible to admire the 21 scenes of a fresco cycle on the Life of Jesus, a 15th century work by painter Martino Spanzotti;
The Olivetti quarter, an interesting example of an architectural project that aimed at merging in harmony industrial buildings, road plan, housing blocks and services. The central 5-point-star directional center was built in the 1960's on a design by architects G.A. Bernasconi, a. Fiocchi and M. Nizzoli;
in the vicinity, the Viverone lake,of glacial origin, 3500 m long and 2750 wide, is a favorite tourist destination for the local populace and also an archeological area with findings of the Bronze age.

Map of Ivrea:

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