[Nov. 2025] Novara, located in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, is not well known, but it has many attractions, including a tall domed church and medieval buildings.
And for a provincial city, it’s home to the impressive Teatro Coccia.
Coccia is named after Carlo Coccia, an opera composer from Naples.
Apparently, the theatre was named after him because he died in Novara.
We went to see a ballet at the Teatro Coccia.
But first, we had lunch, something very important for us.
We made a reservation at a restaurant called Antica Osteria Ai Vini.
Located on the corner of a dead-end street, the restaurant has two rooms: one with a darker green interior and one with a more modern feel.
We were shown to a table in the subdued green room.
The menu was unique and interesting, focusing on the region, and Novara in particular.
For starters, we shared a platter of Salumi Novaresi.
My purpose was the beef tongue, but I found the Salame della Duja, a salami somewhere between normal salami and cotechino, was delicious.
My husband’s main course was Paniscia, a risotto dish unique to the region.
It was a risotto mixed with beans, and meat, and I took a bite and it had a mild flavour.
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but this area is a rice-producing region.
I ordered Bollito Misto (a platter of boiled meats).
It consisted of boiled beef, chicken, and cotechino, and was eaten with pesto or mustard.
The portions were generous.
It came with bitter white onions, which I enjoyed nibbling on.
For dessert, we went with the safe option of panna cotta (for me) and tiramisu (for my husband).
We chose Barolo wine, from a cantina called Coppo that we’d visited a few years ago.
It was delicious, with a robust flavour that we both liked.
All in all, the bill came to €106.
Afterwards, we still had some time, so we enjoyed a stroll around Novara, and it was clear to see how proud the town is of its local cuisine.
We bought some biscuits made from rice, and they were very light and delicious.
The ballet itself was “Giselle,” performed by the International Ballet Company Italia.
This ballet company is primarily composed of Italian and Polish dancers, and some of my acquaintances were performing.
While I cannot say it was a world-class, it was a very enjoyable performance.
