Province VB
Omegna, VB
A town at the northern tip of Lake Orta, where the Nigoglia stream runs out of the lake northwards. For over a century it was Italy's main production centre for pots, pans and small household goods, and the design heritage of firms founded here is as much the reason to come as the lake. Gianni Rodari, the children's writer, was born here.
Sights
- Forum, Museo Arti e Industria, opened in 1998 on the town's household goods industry, with objects from Alessi, Lagostina and others, designed to be handled
- Chiesa di Sant'Ambrogio, late Romanesque with baroque interior alterations
- The Ponte Antico, a 15th-century bridge over the Nigoglia
- Porta della Valle, a surviving medieval town gate
- Parco della Fantasia Gianni Rodari, devoted to Rodari and to storytelling
Things to do
- Go to the Thursday morning market along the lakefront
- Take a lake boat south to Orta San Giulio and the island of San Giulio
- Spend time in the Forum with the design objects, it is the one place that explains why an alpine lake town made moka pots and pressure cookers
Annual events
August to September
Festa di San Vito
One of Piedmont's oldest patronal festivals, with concerts, children's programming and fireworks over the lake.
October
Festival di Letteratura per Ragazzi Gianni Rodari
Children's literature festival around Rodari's birthday, with the Premio Rodari, workshops and a young writers' competition.
When to visit
Late August for San Vito and the lake at its warmest, or October for the Rodari festival and autumn colour around Lake Orta.
