Tom`s travels: Cremona (03/02/2016)

On this day I decided to travel with my aunt who usually works out of town and travels a lot so I decided to get a lift to the city of Cremona. After being dropped off in the city center I immediately headed towards the main square. The bell tower, the second highest in Italy, was immediately visible from the highway so I just had to look up to figure out the way. Once I reached the impressive Piazza del Comune, I was awed by the beauty of the Cathedral and the bell tower right next to it. The Duomo, built in the Romanesque style, had several later additions in the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque style. The facade built in the 13th century is an absolute masterpiece and surely one of the best looking in Italy. I then went inside, and marveled at the Baroque decorations which covered most of the interior yet did not seem out of tone with the older structure of the building. There were still several medieval decorations such as a few frescoes and tombs. The main painting of the church hangs on the counter facade and is the Crucifixion by Pordenone. I then decided to head out to visit the rest of the square. Right in front of the Cathedral are two medieval buildings, the Palazzo del Comune, or City Hall, and the Loggia dei Militi, or Soldier's Loggia which served as another government building. From there I turned right and bought the combined ticket for the bell tower and the Baptistery, and headed up the tower first. The so called Torrazzo, is the third tallest brick tower in the world, and the oldest among those 3 towers. Completed in 1309 its height reached 112m and after having walked up more than 500 steps I reached the top where I had a wonderful view over the town below and the surrounding countryside and the Po river towards the south. It was also really nice that I was the only tourist and visitor up there enjoying the views. I then descended the stairs and went in the Baptistery. A friendly old man at the ticket booth asked me where I was from and started talking about the building's history and of the city too. Built around the time of the Cathedral it's another wonderful example of Romanesque architecture, and as most other Baptisteries it was built in an octagonal plan. The interior though not frescoed as other Baptisteries, still had a nice look to it. It was time for lunch so I asked for some suggestions at the tourist info point and went with the nearby Ristorante Centrale. Though a bit old looking on the inside (like an 80s decor) I had a really good typical Cremonese dish: tortellini in broth. After lunch I headed north and after walking a few block I reached the city's main museum; The Ala Ponzone Museum. Inside were several 16th and 17th century paintings such as a beautiful and strange painting called the Ortolano by Arcimboldo, a famous 16th century painter known for representing people with fruit and vegetables. There were also some rooms with 18th and 19th century pantings, a part with asian porcelains and an archaeological section with greek and roman objects, and finally a last room with the famous violins of which Cremona is known worldwide. After exiting the museum I walked along a few streets passing by some really nice palaces, such as Palazzo Fodri and the Palazzo Stanga Trecco with a really nice courtyard with a renaissance loggia. I then walked on and reached Via Garibaldi, where the house of famous luthier Stradivari stands. Not far up the street is another medieval building very similar to the city hall called Palazzo Cittanova, and right in front the Church of St Agatha rebuilt in a Baroque and Neoclassical style with a famous painting by Boccaccio Boccaccino. Close by was another splendid palace, and probably the best looking in the whole city; the Palazzo Trecchi. First built in the 15th century it was then refurbished and modified in the 19th century and had some beautiful red columns and loggias all around the courtyard. There was even a small plaque showing the place where Garibaldi had a picture taken of him on horseback. On the same street not far, I visited the small yet very nice church of Santa Rita, with some great renaissance paintings and colorful marbles. Walking on I then entered the Baroque church of Sant'Ilario and passing by the beautiful Renaissance Palazzo Raimondi, which seemed it would fit much better in Ferrara than a city of Lombardy, and reached the church of San Luca, which still had some medieval traces remaining particularly the facade, and some of the columns inside, one of which had a strange jewish incrisption. From there I headed back in towards the city center and stopped at the church of Sant Egidio e Omobono, which looked closed and under restoration but the guardian, seeing me peek inside, asked me if I wanted to enter and I responded affirmatively. He then asked me where I was from and happily remarked he had visited Vicenza in the past and had really liked it. After my visit he then suggested I go visit the church of Sant Agostino which had a famous painting by Perugino. In fact not far ahead I reached said church, which had a beautiful interior with a mix of Renaissance and Baroque decorations, particularly rare and interesting were the statues decorating the central nave. I then admired a beautiful marble chapel and right next to it the Cavalcabó Chapel with interesting frescoes and finally the magnificent painting by Perugino. It was then time to head back home, and while waiting for my aunt to come pick me up I decided to give one last look at the main square with the magnificent Cathedral.