We always speak of the lakes Garda, Maggiore, Como and Iseo lake and much less Orta.
wrong in fact, this lake is praised as the others.
The lake is located in Piedmont and Its eastern shore is the namesake country. The core
up area located on the lake opposite the Island of San Giulio and is characterized by narrow streets very picturesque: the main runs parallel to the shore of the lake and intersects with some steep alleyways that run from Lake leading towards the Sacro Monte.
the center of town is Piazza Motta, a true living room facing the lake, from where boats leave to the island of San Giulio. The square is surrounded on three sides by buildings, well-proportioned space, for most arcades. On the north side is the broletto or Palace of the Community of Riviera di San Giulio, dating back to 1582, consisting of a porch on the ground floor, used for the market, and a meeting room on the first floor;
Very striking is the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, built in 1485 and rebuilt in the second half of the eighteenth century
part of the town of Orta the only island of San Giulio Lago d'Orta, San Giulio, which is about 400 meters from the shore. The Basilica, founded by the saint in 390 AD C., is a Romanesque jewel from art.
These places were evangelized by St. Giulio, who arrived in those places with his brother Giuliano.
in 800 built a new church, which became in the tenth century Metropolitan Church of the Riviera, the religious heart of the small independent kingdom that characterizes the history of all the villages of Lake Orta .. Several changes affected the Church over the centuries. The oldest part is the apse, while the aisles were built in the tenth and eleventh centuries.
The interior has three naves and frescoes from various periods, partly covered: the oldest dating from the fourteenth century. Frescoes and paintings of later periods are flanked as a sacred banquet of the saints, Madonnas and scenes from the life of Christ.
From artistic point of view is certainly the beginning of the century pulpit. XII greatest treasure preserved in the Basilica of San Giulio, a masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture.
Inside the Basilica of San Giulio there are two treasures preserved: in the crypt beneath the altar there is the urn containing the remains of San Giulio.
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