Museo di Storia Naturale Faraggiana Ferrandi
The first and biggest courtyard of what is now called Palazzo Faraggiana dates to the first half of the nineteenth century. It was completed after the original three palaces were fused to house the Faraggiana family. The courtyard’s main element is an antique ice-house room, made of stone and brick masonry, to preserve food during the hot season, thanks to the cooling action of ice and compressed snow collected during the winter. This artificial mound is planted with old-growing trees: magnolias, palms, and yews, producing dense shade and bird habitat in the warmer months.
The second garden courtyard at Palazzo Faraggiana hosts the Giardino Didattico, or didactic garden, opened to the public in 2008. Used since the 1700s as a green space, it is now used for educational and ecological purposes, showing a selection of local natural habitats and attracting wild animals, especially birds and insects.
The museum’s verdant courtyards look up to the magnificent duomo and campanile, designed by architect Alessandro Antonelli. The resonant Novara cathedral bells joined van Eyck’s carillon, and nesting peregrine falcons and kestrels added their voices to the other birds in the installation.
