The area is a popular birdwatching destination (see Fauna section)[2] and is entirely within the Parco della Battaglia della Bicocca (Battle of Bicocca Park).[3]
Geography
Arbogna Valley within the Novara-Vespolate Terrace: the valley corresponds to the gap in the central-eastern part
The valley begins near Piazza d'Armi, in the Bicocca district;[4] from the Novara ring road, you can see the first hills sloping down towards the stream, which is still a small stream.[5]
A few kilometers south, precisely in the municipality of Garbagna Novarese, the valley begins to "dissolve", leaving only the aforementioned fluvial-glacial terrace.[1]
In addition to Arbogna, the valley is crossed by many small streams.[6]
Origin
The valley was created by the erosive action of the Arbogna stream on the sediments of the Novara-Vespolate Terrace, which in turn dates back to the first glaciation.[7]
History and places of interest
In the Middle Ages, the valley was part of an area known as baraggia (or barazia), a term that referred to the compact, clayey terrain that extended south of Novara's walls. Its northern section was bordered to the west by the village of San Gaudenzio, and to the east by the relief of San Nazzaro (site of the Abbey of San Nazzaro della Costa), continuing southward at least to Bicocca and the village of Olengo.[8]
Among the places of historical interest in the valley are the farmsteads, many of which date back to the 15th century, with the current structures dating from the 18th to the 20th century.[9][10]
Until the late 1970s, the main valley floor was a swamp of considerable size. Subsequent valley floor leveling and agricultural reclamation projects have transformed it into rice paddies, nestled within them, some uncultivable ponds.[11]
Both in the marshes and in the rice fields, the phenomenon of funghìn (a popular term for quicksand) could be observed: in shallow, clear water, when the surface water was absorbed by the ground and came into contact with the groundwater, the clay was diluted to the point of being neither liquid nor solid. The danger was mainly linked to working animals (horses and oxen) and heavy vehicles, which were difficult to extract from it.[12]
Parco della Battaglia
At the initiative of local historian Angelo Luigi Stoppa, a committee was formed in 1989 to establish the Parco della Battaglia (Battle Park), to protect the area of the 1849 battle from a historical, landscape, architectural, and naturalistic perspective. The protection included the farmsteads at the center of the battle, the characteristic glacial clay hills and slopes of the Arbogna Valley (which is entirely within it), its flora and fauna, and all aspects of rural life at that time. The proposal was accepted by the Piedmont Region, which in 1992 placed a historical and landscape protection restriction on the area bounded by the Agogna river to the west, the Novara-Alessandria railway to the east, Piazza d'Armi to the north, and the municipal boundaries to the south.[13][14]
Crops
Arturo Conterno, Valle Arbogna, oil on panel
The crops grown in the valley are quite varied: rice in the valley floor, wheat, poplar groves and woods on the hills, together with corn, soybeans and barley.[15]
Fauna
Being a very diverse environment, the area hosts a wide variety of species.[2]
The presence of foxes and wild boars is also known. The latter, in particular, are responsible for the damage caused to crops and the risks posed to the transit of vehicles.[17][18]
↑ Emiliana Mongiat; Maria Grazia Porzio; Dorino Tuniz, eds. (2003). "Novara - Zona Sud". Le cascine: un patrimonio da recuperare. Vol.1: Indagine sulle strutture agricole di Novara e dell'ovest Ticino. Provincia di Novara. pp.72–83. ISBN8889-003-00-6.
↑ Puzzi, Cesare Mario; Sartorelli, Massimo; Luvié, Chiara (October 2010), Provincia di Novara, Assessorato alle Politiche Agro-Alimentari, Attività Ittico-Venatorie, Valorizzazione Risorse Naturali Parchi ed Aree Protette (ed.), Rapporto ambientale(PDF), Valutazione Ambientale Strategica (VAS) del Piano Faunistico Venatorio della Provincia di Novara (in Italian), Novara, p.25, retrieved 11 August 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
Conturbia, Franco (2022). "Solcati da una valle son quei colli". Novara è... (in Italian) (7). Novara: EMME distribuzione: 28–35.
Further information
Ghibaudo, Martina; Oliveri, Giacomo (2023), Novara anfibia. Progetto di un parco nella valle del torrente Arbogna (in Italian), supervisors Carlo Ravagnati and Thomas Pepino, Politecnico di Torino, Corso di laurea magistrale in Architettura Costruzione Città, retrieved 11 August 2025
External links
Some videos of hunting dog training, in which the valley environment is clearly visible:
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