The province of Vercelli (Italian: provincia di Vercelli) is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is Vercelli.
As of 2015, it has an area of 2,081 square kilometres (803 sq mi) and a total population of some 176,000. It is an area known for the cultivation of rice.
Western Lombard is a group of varieties of the Lombard language, a Romance language of the Gallo-Italic subgroup. It is spoken primarily in Italy and Switzerland. Within Italy, it is prevalent in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza and Brianza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio, and parts of Cremona (excluding Crema and its immediate surroundings), Lodi, and Pavia. In Piedmont, it is spoken in the provinces of Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, the eastern area of the Province of Alessandria (around Tortona), and a small part of Vercelli (Valsesia). In Switzerland, Western Lombard is spoken in the canton of Ticino and part of the canton of Graubünden.
Due to its historical association with the Duchy of Milan, Western Lombard is frequently referred to as Insubric (from Insubria and Insubres) or Milanese. The term Cisabduan ("Cisabduano", literally "on this side of the Adda River") is also used, particularly in linguistic contexts, following the terminology introduced by Clemente Merlo.
Carnaroli is an Italian medium-grained rice grown in the Pavia, Novara, and Vercelli provinces of northern Italy. Carnaroli is used for making risotto, differing from the more common arborio rice due to its higher starch content and firmer texture, as well as having a longer grain. Carnaroli rice keeps its shape better than other forms of rice during the slow cooking required for making risotto due to its higher amylose content. It is the most widely used rice in Italian cuisine, and is highly prized.
The province of Alessandria (Italian: provincia di Alessandria; Piedmontese: provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: provinsa ëd Lissändria) is an province of the region of Piedmont in Italy. The capital is the city of Alessandria. It has a population of 407,029 across its 187 municipalities as of 2025.
With an area of 3,558.83 square kilometres (1,374.07 sq mi) it is the third largest province of Piedmont after the province of Cuneo and the Metropolitan City of Turin. To the north it borders on the province of Vercelli and to the west on the Metropolitan City of Turin and the province of Asti. It shares its southern border with Liguria (province of Savona and the Metropolitan City of Genoa). Its south-east corner touches the Province of Piacenza in Emilia Romagna, while to the east it borders on the Lombard province of Pavia.
Vercelli (Italian: [verˈtʃɛlli] ; Piedmontese: Vërsèj [vərˈsɛj]) is a city and comune (municipality) of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC.
The city is situated on the Sesia River in the plain of the Po River between Milan and Turin. It is an important centre for the cultivation of rice and is surrounded by rice paddies, which are flooded in the summer. The climate is typical of the Po Valley with cold, foggy winters (0.4 °C (33 °F) in January) and humid heat during the summer months (23.45 °C or 74 °F in July). Rainfall is most prevalent during the spring and autumn; thunderstorms are common in the summer.
Arborio is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of Turin and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Vercelli.
Arborio borders the municipalities of Ghislarengo, Greggio, Landiona, Recetto, Rovasenda, San Giacomo Vercellese, Sillavengo, Vicolungo, and Villarboit.
Maratelli is a semifino rice native to the comune (municipality) of Asigliano Vercellese, in the province of Vercelli, Italy. Compared to other Japonica varieties, it is early-ripening, it has a good yield and, in the right weather conditions, allows for the early use of fields for other successive cultivation. It is a stable rice genotype, hence maintaining constant culinary and botanical properties over time.
Maratelli rice keeps its shape better than other forms of rice during slow cooking. Due to higher quantities of amylose it is perfect for making risotto. Chef Gualtiero Marchesi used it in its original "Risotto oro e zafferano" recipe in 1982.
Valsesia (Piedmontese: Valsesia; Walser German: Tseschrutol) is a group of valleys in the north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy; the principal valley is that of the river Sesia.
The major towns located here are Varallo Sesia,Borgosesia, Quarona and Valduggia; tourist villages include Alagna Valsesia, Rima San Giuseppe, Carcoforo and Scopello. While the valley mainly belongs to the province of Vercelli three of its comuni, namely Romagnano Sesia, Prato Sesia and Grignasco, are part of the province of Novara; however, they are not historically part of Valsesia but only geographically.