Novara

Novara is the rice capital. Set in the Piedmontese plain between Milan and Turin, it lives surrounded by the paddy fields that flood in spring and turn the countryside into a mirror of water — the 'chequered sea' — from which comes much of Italy's risotto rice. Above that flatness rises its unmistakable landmark: the 121-metre dome of the Basilica of San Gaudenzio, the work of architect Alessandro Antonelli, the same man behind Turin's Mole. Between the water of the fields and the verticality of the dome the city's image is built.

In sport, Novara has a name of European stature: Igor Gorgonzola Novara, one of the great clubs of continental women's volleyball, winner of the European Champions League in the 2018-19 season, as well as a Scudetto (2016-17) and several Italian Cups, which plays at the PalaIgor, with a capacity of 5,000 spectators. Football is represented by Novara, which returned to Serie A in 2011 after a 55-year absence and plays at the Stadio Silvio Piola, a venue that has exceeded 17,000 seats.

Novara holds an uncommon place in the ACES network: it was recognised as European City of Sport twice, in 2010 and again in 2025, fifteen years apart, something the Italian delegation confirms in its register of awarded municipalities. The repetition of the title, fifteen years after the first, certifies a sports policy sustained over time within one of the network's densest national representations.