Mandello Vitta (Mandel in Piedmontese and in Lombard, IPA pronunciation: /maŋˈdɛl/) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara.
The comune is located in the western part of the provincial territory that lies between the rivers Sesia and Agogna.
Mandello Vitta borders the following municipalities: Casaleggio Novara, Castellazzo Novarese, Landiona, Sillavengo, and Vicolungo.
Mandello Vitta is 5 km far from the strada provinciale 299 della Valsesia (SP 299) that connects Novara and Alagna Valsesia, in the Province of Vercelli. The comune is easily accessible by the motorway Autostrada A4 Turin-Trieste through the junction "Biandrate-Vicolungo".
Mandello Vitta is also part of some thematic itineraries of the Province of Novara.
Toponymy
The etymology of the name Mandello derives from the founder Rubaconte da Mandello, Podestà of the Commune of Novara during the 13th century, whose family was originated from Mandello del Lario.
The name Vitta was added after the Italian Unification to distinguish Mandello Vitta from the omonomy Mandello del Lario. Vitta was a family who owned fields and industries in the comune during the 19th century.
History
Before the foundation of the village, a Lombard settlement may had been present, as remains of a burial ground found here suggest.
In the territory of the comune, a cage cup (Coppa diatreta Trivulzio, 4th century) was found with no damage in a sarcophagus of Roman age. Now it is exposed at the Archeological Museum in Milan. The inscription "BIBE VIVAS MULTIS ANNIS" ("Drink and you will live for many years") is a great sponsorship for wine produced in the nearby Novara Hills (Colline Novaresi).
The village of Mandello Vitta was founded by and named after the Podestà of Novara Rubaconte da Mandello, native of Milan but his family was originated from Mandello del Lario (Province of Lecco). In the land not far from the river Sesia, along the medieval road named "Strada Biandrina" which connected Biandrate to Romagnano Sesia and to Valsesia, in the first decades of 13th century he decides to install a new "borgo franco". The aim of this new village was to ensure safe and fast connections from Novara to the Alps and to control the territory along the eastern bank of the river Sesia that were disputed with the rival Commune of Vercelli. Mandello Vitta features a 13th century mediaval tower that is still visible on the south-west side of the village and perfectly preserved (it is one of the architectural symbols of Mandello). The tower was originally intended for land control and toll payment.Nearby the tower, the castle of Caccia, the family who controlled Mandello since the first years of 16th century, was built. Caccia owned the village until the 18th century. Then, the fiefdom was invested in the Vitta family who deeply engraved the history of Mandello so that, after the Italian Unification, in 1863 the comune changed its name into Mandello Vitta (r.d. 8 aprile 1863, n. 1234).
In 1928 (r.d. 1 November 1928, n. 2590) the commune of Mandello Vitta merged with the neighbouring village of Vicolungo to form a new municipality, having both seat of the Town Hall and name Vicolungo. This political order lasted until 1954 (d.p.r. 24 December 1954) when the reconstitution of Mandello Vitta as autonomous commune was decreed.
Geography
The land around Mandello Vitta can be considered roughly flat, although it gently descends from north to south. The maximum altitude is located at the border with municipalities of Sillavengo and Castellazzo Novarese and the minimum one is southwards on the border with Vicolungo and Casaleggio Novara.
The territory is rich of water streams whether they come from river Sesia or from natural springs. The roggia (irrigation canal) Busca touches the north-east side of the village in the direction of Castellazzo Novarese; roggia Biraga flows on the west and it constitutes the border with the municipality of Landiona. Beside these, water flows in streams, cables and smaller ditches that spread it all around the territory of Mandello Vitta. It's interesting to report the presence of the remains of a watermill near the village that, until a few decades ago, exploited the flow of the roggia Busca.
Mandello Vitta is mainly surrounded by rice fields, a cereal widely cultivated in the Province of Novara, which create during the irrigation period the peculiar "mare a quadretti" (square or checkered sea) of the novarese rice fields.