With its 121 meters of height, the Dome of San Gaudenzio is definitely the symbol of the city of Novara, whose province is the harbinger of great landscape beauties. From its vaults you can admire the entire city, and on clear days you can even see it far away the Madonnina of the Cathedral of Milano. But how was such an imposing building born in a city of agricultural and provincial extraction? And what is the legend that revolves around its construction?
The origins
The idea of providing a dome to the Basilica of the patron saint of the city dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, when the architect Alessandro Antonelli was called, who became famous for the construction of the Mole Antonelliana of Turin a few years later. Antonelli had a grandiose project in mind, impossible if it were known immediately: no one would approve it. As a result, the architect decided to start the works and hide the cards of the original project, with the promise to immediately build the dome. After three years of work, in 1844, the construction sites were dismantled and… again nothing! The Novara people did not see any progress, as Antonelli decided to spend those years to reinforce the tambour and the masonry arches, adapting them to support the weight of the work.
It was therefore decided to continue a few years later, after the wars of independence against Austria. Meanwhile, Antonelli presented a project for raise the height of the dome from 65 to 75 meters. The work resumed, but at the end the dome was not complete. What the citizens could see was in fact a double order of pillars, with no closure on the top.
The conclusion
At that point, Antonelli was forced to take out the original papers. The project sent the financiers into a rage, who refused the continuation of the work, only to change their minds the following year. The Basilica, in fact, it no longer had a roof. With the promise of completing the work quickly and without additional expenses, Antonelli completed the dome in 1863. Due to the great admiration aroused by the Novara people and visitors, the architect quickly acquired a lot of fame and received carte blanche to complete the details. The decorations, the dome and the design of the golden statue of the Savior, 5 meters high and placed on the top of the dome in 1878.
The fear of collapses and subsidence led to a complete renovation in the years of the Second World War. Despite this, the reinforcements were made of reinforced concrete and not iron, as was the case for the Mole of Turin. In this way the mythical Dome not only maintains its characteristic of unloading the weight on the load-bearing structure in increasingly smaller concentric circles, but also the record for the tallest brick building in the world, beaten only by the Philadelphia City Hall tower.
The Dome today
Today it is possible to visit the Dome almost to the top. Access is via the parallel bell tower, connected to the dome by a small bridge, which leads to the Sala del Compasso.
In this room, the original compass of 11 meters that Antonelli built to draw the original 1: 1 scale, life-size project. In short, another ( contact with moisture can dull the shine ). little known of our Italy but with an enormous symbolic, architectural and tourist value, just waiting to be discovered and appreciated.
