The province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Italian: provincia del Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italian: [verˈbaːno ˈkuːzjo ˈɔssola]) is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previously been part of the province of Novara. The area flanking the western shore of Verbano (or Lago Maggiore) forms the eastern part of the province; Cusio (or Lago d’Orta) and its environs form the southern part; while the north and west of the province consist of the Ossola, a region of Alpine mountains and valleys. The ISO code for the province is VB.
Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Provincia del Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Italian) | |
|---|---|
 Stresa in foreground (province of Varese across lake) | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Map highlighting the location of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in Italy | |
| Country |  Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Capital(s) | Verbania |
| Comuni | 74 |
| Government | |
| • President | Alessandro Lana |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,255 km2 (871 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
• Total | 161,732 |
| • Density | 72/km2 (190/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €3.733 billion (2015) |
| • Per capita | €23,259 (2015) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | Verbania: 28921-28925, Other areas: 28811-28897 |
| Telephone prefix | 0163, 0322, 0323, 0324 |
| ISO 3166 code | VB |
| Vehicle registration | VB |
| ISTAT | 103 |
The province has a total population of some 160,000, distributed over an area of 2,255 square kilometres (871 sq mi), with the biggest population centres being its capital Verbania on the shores of Lago Maggiore, Domodossola the main town of the Ossola, and Omegna at the northern end of Lago d’Orta.
Municipal subdivisions
editThere are 74 comuni (sg.: comune) in the province.[1] The largest by population are:
| Comune | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Verbania | 30,836 | 
|
| Domodossola | 18,362 | 
|
| Omegna | 15,949 | 
|
| Gravellona Toce | 7,595 | 
|
| Villadossola | 6,915 | 
|
| Cannobio | 5,113 | 
|
| Stresa | 5,104 |
|
Culture
editUNESCO Sacred Mountains
editIn 2003, the Sacred Mountain of Domodossola and the Sacred Mountain of Ghiffa were inserted by UNESCO in the World Heritage List.
-
Sacro Monte di Domodossola
View of the chapels IX and XI -
Sacro Monte di Domodossola
Chapel IX -
Sacro Monte di Domodossola -
Sacro Monte di Ghiffa
Crucifixion and Trinity, 16th century -
Sacro Monte di Ghiffa
Unknown artist of the 18th century, Three Angels visiting Abraham -
Sacro Monte di Ghiffa
Landscape from the Sacro Monte
Cuisine
edit
Common in the whole Insubria area are bruscitti, originating from Alto Milanese, which consist in a braised meat dish cut very thin and cooked in wine and fennel seeds, historically obtained by stripping leftover meat.
Demographics
editThe top eight countries of origin of the inhabitants of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola with foreign citizenship at 31 December 2010 were:[2]
Footnotes
editReferences
edit- ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional Gross Domestic Product (Small regions TL3), OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
- ^ ISTAT. "Verbano-Cusio-Ossola". ISTAT. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
External links
edit- Official website
- Portale del Lago Maggiore - a portal run by the local Trading Chamber
- Official web site for European Sacred Mountains (in English)