San Giulio Island

The little island, just west of the lakeshore village of Orta San Giulio, has very picturesque buildings and takes its name from a local patron saint (Julius of Novara), who lived in the second half of the 4th century.

The island is inhabited permanently by few families and the most historically relevant buildings are the Basilica di San Giulio and the Mater Ecclesiae Abbey.

In the 5th century, a small chapel (oratory) was erected on the island, probably to commemorate the evangelizer Saint Julius, who had died there.

According to the tradition, Onorato, 7th bishop of Novara, acknowledged the strategic position of the island as difensive bulwark against a possible invader from the Sempione.

From archaeological finds, it is known that a new, larger church already existed in the 6th century: here Filacrio, the bishop of Novara, asked to be buried.

During the XVIII century the Novara area passed under the rule of the Kingdom of Sardinia and in September 1767 the inhabitants of the Riviera di San Giulio pledged alliance to the king in the Bishop's Palace on the island.