Attractions and Places To See around Balocco - Top 20

The Abbey of San Nazzaro Sesia is a complex made up of structures from different historical periods. The oldest parts are the bell tower, built as a watchtower, and the two wings of the narthex preceding the façade, which are what remains of the quadriportico built around 1150, shortly after the abbey itself was founded (1040). The cuts resulting from the demolition of the other two sides are still clearly visible today. The narthex is almost entirely made up of stones from the Sesia river arranged in a herringbone pattern to increase its solidity. The mortar itself was obtained from materials found on site, near the Sesia river. It was probably originally used as a “hospitalis”, that is, it served as a place of rest and refreshment for travellers and pilgrims, who we know were very numerous in medieval times, and it also had the function of hosting catechumens.

the dome of the parish church of San Germano is the work of Bernardo Vittone, one of the protagonists of the Piedmontese late Baroque.

The ancient village of Olcenengo is surrounded by the slow flow of its irrigation canals and shrouded in winter fog, dense and impenetrable guardian of landscapes with an ancient flavor. Agriculture is the main economic sector of Olcenengo, but in the shadow of the large farms, craft businesses related to the rice sector have developed: mechanical workshops, wooden products, pig farms with their own production of typical sausages, small family-run rice mills . The town hall, the small square with the fountain of the "sgorgia" and the "frog", the church are the most characteristic points of the city. Only a few parts of the castle, dating from 1100, are still used as a farm. The town hall is a compact building rising over two floors. The public fountain in Piazza Paietta has become the symbol of the city: a frog at the edge of the pool sprays a stream of water at a "sgorgia" (blue heron), the typical bird of the rice fields. https://www.viefrancigene.org/it/resource/poi/olcenengo/

The Lame del Sesia park extends over an area of approximately 900 hectares along a stretch of almost 8 kilometers of the Sesia river, located between the provinces of Novara and Vercelli. The river environment, enriched by blades, meanders, bodies of water, woods, gravels and sands, constitutes an important natural oasis in stark contrast to the surrounding landscape characterized by rice monoculture.

Canale Cavour is a nineteenth-century structure which served for Piedmontese agricultural development, in particular for the cultivation of rice

The park extends for approximately 900 hectares on a stretch of almost 8 kilometers of the Sesia river, straddling the border between the provinces of Novara and Vercelli. The environment of the Lame del Sesia park is typically fluvial with blades, meanders, bodies of water, woods, gravels and sands. A natural oasis in stark contrast to the surrounding landscape characterized by the predominance of rice monoculture. For info and visits: https://www.parcoticinolagomaggiore.com/it-it/aree-protette/servizi/parco-naturale-delle-lame-del-sesia

Olcenengo (Osneng in Piedmontese) is an Italian municipality of 786 inhabitants in the province of Vercelli in Piedmont. Source: Wikipedia

In San Germano Vercellese, about 10 km east of Santhià, is the church of the same name, dedicated to Germanus of Auxerre (Saint Germain in French). Germanus is said to have been born in Auxerre around 378 and died in Ravenna on July 31, 448 (or as early as 437). He was a late antique bishop. Germanus came from a noble Gallo-Roman family from Burgundy. After studying law in Rome, he became a lawyer (advocatus) for the prefect of his hometown of Auxerre and possibly later also commander-in-chief (dux) of the Roman troops in his province. He later withdrew from political life, began a monastic and ascetic life, became a priest and in 418 Bishop of Auxerre. He was the teacher of St. Patrick, who later became the patron saint of Ireland, and worked against Pelagianism on a visit to the British Isles (429). Due to his military experience, he may have also been involved in military operations on the island. Together with his wife Eustochia he promoted monasticism in Gaul. In Christianity, Pelagianism is the teaching that human nature was not corrupted by original sin, but ultimately, as created by God, must be good if one does not want to assume that part of God's creation is evil. Source: Wikipedia