Piazza delle Erbe, formerly called Piazza delle Beccherie Maggiori, housed the headquarters of the shoemakers' guild in the Middle Ages. The market stalls of the beccari, or butchers, shoemakers and other traders were also set up here.
Instead, the Square's "delle Erbe" appellation dates to a later period, dating from around the 19th century, when the area was the site of the city's vegetable market.
Piazza delle Erbe, however, is also famous in the esoteric world. Its shape is that of a geodesic triangle that conventionally represents the centre of the city of Novara. This fact is also remembered by a triangular granite stone placed among all the porphyry paving in the square. This stone was stolen in January 1992 and reappeared in the confessional of a city church after a few days, so it was placed back in its original place. The repositioning was not totally accurate, and it is said that this triggered the loss of the city's telluric energy.
Foto @alessandra.corra
Archivio @regione.piemonte
