The town of Gattico, with its two hamlets of Maggiate Superiore and Maggiate Inferiore, is situated in the Novara Hills area, between Borgomanero and Arona, close to the Nature Park of the Ticino River and the park of the Lakes of Mercurago.

It is an area of woodland, pastures, moors and many vineyards. The name Gattico probably comes from the Longobard term “Gatten” meaning pasture, and interesting archaeological remains reveal traces of a human settlement dating back as far as the Bronze Age.

There are also many examples of Romanesque architecture from the Middle Ages. These include: the ruins of the Basilica of San Martino, situated in a wood to the north of the town on an ancient route which led from Borgoagnello to San Grato, and many churches like Santa Maria di Muggiano, Sant’Andrea and Sant’Igino or the ruins of the Castle of Maggiate Superiore.

On the road linking Gattico to Oleggio Castello, close to the Natural park of the Lakes of Mercurago, is the Cascinale del Muggiano, an ancient agricultural holding with a large farmhouse with the owner’s home dating from the 15th to 16th centuries, and the church of Our Lady of the Snow (Madonna della Neve), from the early 1700s.

On the road that links Gattico to Borgomanero is the splendid 18th century Villa Leonardi, surrounded by a fine English-style park, and the Oratory of Our Lady of the Fields (Madonna di Campagna), rebuilt in the first decades of the 18th century.

Finally, Contemporary Art is represented in Gattico by works donated to the town by artists like Kengiro Azuma, whose “La Goccia” (The drop) can be seen in Piazza Leonardi, or Marcello Corra, whose monumental  sculpture “Verso il Cielo” (Towards the Sky) stands close to Viale del Borgarino.

Comune di Gattico
www.comune.gattico.no.it