Motta de' Conti in the Province of Vercelli
This village was founded towards the end of the XIII century and this area, which more or less corresponds to the hamlet of Mantie and the area of Dosso, could be the location of the Roman site of Carbanti.
The decaying castle has original structures of the XIII and XIV century. The most interesting part is the western one, where fired ceramic frames can be seen. The building on the north of the church was erected on the ancient square structure; also here it is possible to see windows with elegant fired ceramic decorations.
A local leggend says that the castle was connected to the territory across the river Sesia by a long and mysterious underground passage, inside of which a wonderfull treasure was supposed to be hidden; another tradition says that the castle was the place of the sinister payment of the ius primae noctis; the first night of the young maidens from the village, in fact, was not supposed to be consumated within the arms of their new husbands, but within those of the lord of the Motta and, if they refused, they would be thrown in a well.
The parish, dedicated to Annunziata, dates back to the thirteenth century and was appointed a parish in 1390, after the speration from the parish of Villanova. The façade is very simple, divided into three sections by two buttresses; The supporting structures are made of bricks, the material of which the high bell tower is also made.
The interior is adorned with five alters, the first one on the right shows the mystical wedding of Saint Catherine, painted by B. Lanino. Recently ancient fresco traces have been recovered, pobably belonging to the ancient Chapel of the Counts of Motta.
There are a good six Votive chapels in the Motta area: Saint John the Baptist, which is the centre of the brotherhood, is the biggest of the chapels of the village, and made in a very simple style, SS. Fabiano and Sebastiano, ancient oratory of 1597; S. John the Evangelist, dating back to 1682, where also the chapel of Saint Bernardino was merged, which still existed in 1710. There is also the chapel of S.Maria Assunta on the road for Villanova, it is the oldest, and was already certified in 1570 as the “Giesietta”. Every year there is a solemn procession which starts from the parish church. Then there is the very small Saint Roch with its graceful façade, which has always been run by a prior. In the Mantie hamlet there stands the church of Saint Roch, once managed by a resident priest nominated by the Town hall.
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