Novara di Sicilia

Novara di Sicilia
Comune
Comune di Novara di Sicilia
Novara di Sicilia cityscape
Novara di Sicilia Location of Novara di Sicilia in Italy Show map of Italy Novara di Sicilia Novara di Sicilia (Sicily) Show map of Sicily
Coordinates: 38°1′N15°8′E / 38.017°N 15.133°E / 38.017; 15.133
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Metropolitan city	Messina (ME)
Frazioni	San Basilio, San Marco, Vallancazza, Piano Vigna, Badia Vecchia
Government
• Mayor	Girolamo Bertolami
Area [1]
• Total	48.8 km2 (18.8 sq mi)
Elevation	650 m (2,130 ft)
Population  (30 November 2011) [2]
• Total	1,414
• Density	29.0/km2 (75.0/sq mi)
Demonym	Novaresi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	98058
Dialing code	0941
Patron saint	Assumption of Mary, St. Hugh Abbot
Saint day	August 15 and 16
Website	Official website

Novara di Sicilia is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Messina in Sicily, Italy.

Toponymy

The earliest known name of the area was Noa, a Sicani word for fallow field. The name later evolved to Nouah and then Novara. The attribute ‘di Sicilia’ was added to distinguish it from the city of the same name in Piedmont. ^[3]

History

There is archaeological evidence of Mesolithic habitation. Pliny mentions the Roman city of Noa, and its inhabitants the Noeni. ^[4]

Lombards settled there in 1061–72. During the time of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, in 1171 Hugh of Châteaneuf founded the Abbey of Santa Maria Nucaria. In the 1200s a castle was built by Roger of Lauria. ^[4]

The lands passed to the Palizzis and then in 1364 to Vinciguerra d’Aragona. In 1641 the fief was granted to the wife of Marcantonio Colonna. ^[4]

The village peaked in the 1600s with the development of a dense network of alleys and lanes, and the considerable array of decorative elements on the houses, carved in local sandstone, cipollino, and marble. ^[4]

Geography

It is about 160 kilometres (99 mi) east of Palermo and some 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Messina. It borders the following municipalities: Fondachelli-Fantina, Francavilla di Sicilia, Mazzarrà Sant'Andrea, Rodì Milici, Tripi. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ^[5]

References

1. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
2. All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat.
3. "Novara di Sicilia" . Retrieved 22 November 2025.
4. "Novara di Sicilia | Città metropolitana di Messina". visitme.comune.messina.it. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
5. "Sicilia" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 August 2023.

External links

• Official website (in Italian)