From Ossola to Switzerland: Via Francisca Novarese becomes a tourist destination

TRA-ME ("traces of wonders"), an Interreg project worth over €1.4 million and led by the Municipality of Omegna, seeks to turn the historic Via Francisca Novarese into a diffuse tourist destination linking the Novara area, Cusio and the Canton Ticino.

The initiative builds on a shared historical identity from the Gallo-Roman era to the Middle Ages and highlights common castles, glass-making routes, churches and architecture to create an integrated tourism offer.

• Main goals: attract about 50,000 visitors per year and promote slow tourism.
• Planned actions: a multimedia centre, a network of audio guides and podcasts, restoration of the Castello del Motto, and the enhancement of traditional local cuisine.
• Accessibility: the route is conceived not only as a hiking trail but as an experience accessible by public transport (e.g. the scenic Vigezzina-Centovalli railway).
• Local partners: in addition to the Municipality of Omegna, Swiss partners from the Bellinzona and Upper Ticino area, the Ecomuseum of Lake Orta and Mottarone and the Unione Montana del Cusio e del Mottarone are involved.

On 10 and 11 May 2026 a cross-border "educo-tour" for journalists and communicators took place across Domodossola, Malesco, Santa Maria Maggiore and Locarno, serving as an operational test to tell the story of an Alpine culture that transcends administrative borders.

The project also focuses on education, proposing school exchanges and teaching programmes to reconnect younger generations with the shared heritage of the area.