NOVARA, a province of the duchy of Piedmont, in the continental dominions of Sardinia. It extends over 610 square miles, and comprehends one city, 117 market-towns and villages, and about 100,000 inhabitants. It is a level district, watered by the rivers Ticino, Sesia, and Agnona, the streams of which are spread by numerous small canals, so as to irrigate the whole of the surface; but as the water is not stagnant, the air is not generally insalubrious, excepting near the extensive rice-grounds. Much corn is raised, and some of the best silk, with hemp, flax, and fruits.
The capital is the city of the same name, situated on a
hill at the foot of which flows the river Agnona; it is fortified, is the seat of a bishop, and has a cathedral. It contains several parish churches, seventeen convents for the two sexes, and two thousand houses, with 14,662 inhabitants. The city has two colleges and a theological seminary. The chief occupations of the inhabitants consist in weaving silk and linen, and some smaller trades. Long. 8. 32. 25. E. Lat. 45. 26. 58. N.