The name has uncertain origins: for some historians it derives from the Latin word "viminea" (with reference to the willow), for others from the Latin proper name of its probable first Roman landlord "Viminea". A municipality in the province of Verbania, located on the border with the territory of Novara and Lake Orta, it consists of several villages, all different one to each other, but at the same time similar, being equally interesting for their historical and artistic influences and landscapes. Since the mid-XIX century several house ware factories were created.
The area was inhabited since the Bronze Age and Iron Age, as evidenced by the discovery of important relics of the time. Later several tribes settled here, such as: the Oscans, the Ligurians and the Leponzi, that splitted themselves into smaller groups. In the VI century B.C. the Piedmont area was invaded by the Celts, that at their turn were subjugated by the Romans. At the fall of the Roman Empire, the area was invaded by Barbarians, and then by the Lombards, that were expelled by the Franks of Charlemagne at the request of the Pope. In the XIV century, Omegna was proclaimed municipality with its own statutes and at the same time the Visconti ordered the demolition of the defensive structures and the castle. In the XV century, after the death of Filippo Maria Visconti, the Ambrosian Republic recognized to the town, its complete autonomy. In the same century, however, it returned to become part of the fief of the Borromeo. In the XVI century Omegna submitted a dark period as it was sacked several times by different troops that battled in the area, including Swiss and Spanish. It then passed to the municipality of Novara and finally to the Savoy.
Attractions:
- the Church of Saint Ambrose, built in late-Romanesque style and features a three nave plan with side chapels. Inside the style is typically Baroque, inside it preserves an altarpiece, art work of the artist Stella and the remains of St. Vitus. The medieval Bell Tower has a square plan and is interrupted by slits and mullioned windows;
- the Church of the Madonna del Popolo;
- the Parish Church of St. Maiolo of Cluny in Agrano;
- the Church of San Gaudenzio in Crusinallo;
- the Parish Church of the Assumption in Cireggio;
- the Oratory of San Bernardino in Bagnella;
- the Oratory of St. Gotthard in Borca;
- the Roman gate, the only remaining of the five gates that led to main medieval town center;
- the XV century Bridge over the river Strona;
- the Museum of Art and Industry, a permanent exhibition of objects granted by the city's industries of household utensils and household goods, such as: Alessi, Bialetti, Girmi, Lagostina, Piazza.