Guardabosone
Guardabosone: a living museum town in Piedmont
Hello everyone! Today I would like to talk to you about a very special town in the province of Vercelli, Piedmont: Guardabosone, a town of only 335 inhabitants that is defined as a "living museum town". But what does that exactly mean?
Origin of the name
Let's start with the name: "Guarda" seems to derive from the fact that Guardabosone is located on the border with the nearby Valsesia, so it was a place of guard in the past. "Bosone", on the other hand, can be traced back to the archaic German term "bos", which in Lombard times indicated all the valley floor locations: therefore, "Guardabosone" could indicate a "watch location at the valley floor".
Monuments and places of interest
Let's now talk about the beauties of Guardabosone! Its medieval historic center has been completely restored and returned to its original conformation, and along the streets of the town, you can admire stone houses and palaces, with porticos and courtyards. The church of Sant'Agata is another building of notable interest: located right in the center of the town, it was built between the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth century and has undergone various interventions over time. The bell tower, in particular, seems to be one of the most characteristic landmarks of Guardabosone: 38 meters high, it was erected in 1831 to replace the previous one, which was destroyed.
Society
As I mentioned at the beginning, Guardabosone has only 335 inhabitants. But what is the demographic situation of the town? According to the municipality's website, the resident population is constantly decreasing: in 1971, there were 427 inhabitants, in 2011, only 327. Speaking of numbers, you will be surprised to know that the surface area of Guardabosone's territory is only 6.05 km², which makes it the smallest municipality in the province of Vercelli!
Administration
Regarding the administration of the municipality, we know that it was part of the Valle Sessera Mountain Community. I haven't found much other information on this topic, but the municipality's website is always a good starting point to delve into these things.
Image gallery
It is always nice to see pictures to get a more precise idea of a place. In Guardabosone's image gallery, you can admire views of the historic center, the church of Sant'Agata and the bell tower, but also some landscapes and the municipality's coat of arms.
Notes, bibliography, and other projects
In the notes and bibliography section, I did not find anything of particular interest, but as usual, there are some links to other projects that could be useful to deepen the knowledge of Guardabosone. For example, you can follow the municipality's official Facebook page.
In conclusion, Guardabosone is a town that definitely deserves a visit if you are in the area. I discovered it only today, writing this short article, but I have already added it to the list of places to see in Piedmont!
