Along the Quintino Sella canal, from the Terdoppio torrent to the Ticino Park, crossing the territory of Terdobbiate, Sozzago, Cerano and Trecate in the plain east of Novara

Departure from Novara at the roundabout of Corso XXIII Marzo (crossroads with Viale Curtatone and Viale Giulio Cesare); go along it for 300 m and turn left onto Via dell’Abbadia and pass under the railway tunnel. Turn right onto the dirt road that goes along the canal, reaching Olengo. Go left onto SP98 from where we reach Terdobbiate. At the beginning of the town, turn left onto SP6 to reach Sozzago; cross the town and continue on SP6 reaching Cerano. In the town, turn left onto SP4 and after 2km turn left to enter Trecate. Cross the town and before exiting turn left onto SP99 (direction of Olengo), go along it for 5.7 km and then turn right. Go along the dirt road that re-enters Novara from Strada Prelle (Sant’Agabio district)

VARIATION

At Cerano, we can descend into the Ticino Park as far as La Badiola. Round-trip 7 km, 1.5 km on dirt road

The route is completely flat, on secondary low traffic roads, except for short sections; approximately 34 km are travelled, approximately 8 on dirt road (approximately 41 km, 9.5 km on dirt road if we travel the Cerano-Badiola variation)

Novara - Bicocca Ossuary: a pyramid-shaped construction, designed by Luigi Broggi and built in 1879. It stands on the site of the battle between the Piedmontese army and the Austrian army on 23 March, 1849, which was lost by the Piedmontese.

Terdobbiate - Oratory of San Pietro: Situated close to the Parish church, the single nave oratory is adorned with frescoes of the 15^th and the 16^th century, attributed to Francesco Cagnola.

Terdobbiate – Castle: Already documented in the 10th century as a castle, it was rebuilt in the 15th century with characteristics of the military architecture with moat and cylindrical towers: since 1530, it has been the property of Conti Cicogna, to whom the fief of Terdobbiate was entrusted. It has been transformed over the centuries by important works of embellishment and is now an elegant country house with a large garden of great landscape and botanical interest

Sozzago - Parish church of San Silvano: The existence of the church dedicated to San Silvano is already documented starting from the 12^th century, but the current forms are the result of reconstruction of the 18th century. Inside, Baroque frescoes and exquisite stuccoes embellish the vaults; worthy of note is the wooden choir behind the polychrome altar.

Cerano – Parish church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary: Consecrated in 1488, it underwent alterations in the 17th and 19th centuries. It preserves a canvas depicting the Last Supper by Giovan Battista Crespi, known as il Cerano, as well as the beautiful polyptych by Sperindio Cagnola in the early 16th century.  

Cerano - Church of San Pietro: The church is located near the cemetery on the road that leads to the Ticino Valley. Built between the 12^th and the 13^th century. it has three naves with a Gothic style transept and lantern. Despite works carried out in different eras, the original structure has remained almost unchanged. Exquisite paintings adorn the interior.

The Natural Park of the Ticino Valley: The Ticino Park of Piedmont covers an area of 6500 hectares and together with the Lombardo Park forms the largest fluvial protected area in Europe, recognised as a world heritage site by MAB-UNESCO. The area is characterised by a large variety of rich environments of biodiversity, between forests and heaths, gardens, farmhouses, mills, canals and oxbow lakes, a shelter for many wildlife species. In the park, you can travel numerous itineraries that from North to South run along the province of Novara, from Lake Maggiore to Cerano and onwards to the Navigli canals of Lombardy.

Trecate - Church and Convent of San Francesco: Founded around 1475, they became the seat of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor. Of the convent remains part of the first cloister frescoed in the second half of the 17^th century. The restoration work inside the church (1985) brought to light 16^th century frescoes by Giovan Battista Crespi, known as il Cerano.

Trecate - Church of Madonna delle Grazie: Pilgrimage destination, the church hosues the 18^th century altarpiece depicting the Madonna delle Grazie, work of master painters from Novara of the Lombard School of the late 16^th century. To point out is also the Oratory of Gonfalone, with a precious altarpiece by Giovan Battista Crespi.

Trecate - Villa Cicogna: It rises on the ancient remains of a castle of which no trace remains. It is the seat of the Civic Library and characterised by a magnificent park with centuries-old trees, theatre of numerous events.