Tom`s travels: Commessaggio, Sabbioneta & Casalmaggiore (07/01/2023)

On the first January weekend after the Christmas holidays, we decided to make a day trip and visit a few small towns in southeastern Lombardy. Ania, my dad, my mom, and I, took the car and drove to the first stop of the day, the town of Commessaggio. Once there we parked the car and walked through the small old town, past the 16th-century town hall on the main square, and the church of sant'Albino. The highlights of the town though were located to the south; here we came upon the impressive Torrazzo Gonzaghesco, a defensive tower built entirely of brick by the Duke of Sabbioneta Vespasiano Gonzaga in 1583. It guarded the town by protecting its southern side, right on the Navarolo canal which flows by. In front of the tower we then also enjoyed walking across the pontoon bridge, a bridge made out of boats from 1976 which substituted the old 16th century bridge that was once present there. Back in the car we then drove to the next town, Sabbioneta. We parked in the public parking on the southern end of the old town and continued on foot. From there we headed towards the main square where the info point and ticket office were located. We bought the ticket which included the visit to all the town's monuments and started out with the most important one, the Teatro all'Antica. Also known as Teatro Olimpico, this indoor theatre was built between 1588 and 1590 to a design by Vicenza architect Vincenzo Scamozzi. In fact, the architect had worked with Palladio in finishing the first covered theatre in the world located in Vicenza, making thus the one in Sabbioneta the second-oldest. Compared to the one in Vicenza, which was fit into a pre-built building, the one in Sabbioneta was built ex-novo. The interior though small was still impressive to see with its beautiful cavea surmounted by a Corinthian peristyle crowned with statues of mythological deities and with sides with niches and busts placed in blind intercolumniations and frescoes. Unlike the one in Vicenza, the scene was not preserved, as it was common to use different ones in rotation depending on the play, so it was now made of just modern wooden reproductions of buildings. The theatre, along with the rest of the city, was planned and built according to the desire of Vespasiano Gonzaga Colonna at the end of the 16th century, as a modern and well-planned city, but also a fortress, as the Renaissance walls surrounding it suggest. It is now inscribed in the UNESCO world heritage list alongside Mantova, representing the two main urban planning forms of the Renaissance: the transformation of an existing city and the newly founded city, based on the concept of the ideal city. Once out of the theatre, we reached the nearby main square, Piazza Ducale, sided by the nice Palazzo Ducale, with two floors, a porch, and a central turret, built in 1578 as the duke's residence. To the north of the square was the small church of Santa Maria Assunta from 1562 with a simple facade and Renaissance structure. A few steps from the square we then reached the church of the Beata Vergine Incoronata, built in 1588 in an octagonal shape and with 18th-century baroque decorations inside. Moving on we then visited the small church of San Rocco which featured a little museum with paintings and a historic pharmacy. Next door we then entered the Jewish Synagogue built in 1824 in a Neoclassical style for the relatively large local Jewish community. Back through the main square we then entered the Palazzo Ducale which hosted the civic museum. There were well-preserved rooms from the duke's period, with 16th frescoes, decorations, and furniture. After that, it was time to look for a place to have lunch. With not so much choice in town, we ended up picking an Indian Restaurant, da Angelo, where we had a tasty meal. Next up was the small museum of sacred art with furnished rooms, sacred objects, paintings, canvases, etc. From there we then walked through the rest of the old town reaching the southeastern city gate, Porta Imperiale. Finally, we then headed back through town to visit the last remaining monuments. We entered the Palazzo del Giardino, built in 1587 for Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga as a place for idleness and amusement. Its interior held some beautifully preserved rooms with frescoes and decorations. After crossing all the rooms we then reached the impressive Galleria degli Antichi, a 97m long gallery once used to contain the ancient marble collections of the Duke of Sabbioneta. Nowadays it is empty as the collection was moved to Mantova in 1773, but it is an impressive building, and nice to walk along its full length. For its length, it is the third longest after the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Our visit to Sabbioneta was over so we headed to the car and drove onwards, stopping along the way to visit the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Fontana, right outside the town of Casalmaggiore. The sanctuary was built in the second half of the 15th century on the site of a spring believed to be miraculous. It features a Gothic layout with a Renaissance portal, and below the raised chancel is the crypt where the sacred spring still gushes in a 17th-century basin with the venerated 15th-century icon of Our Lady of Milk as well. Alongside a set of frescoes from the same time of the church's construction is the tomb of the famous artist, Parmigianino. After the visit, we then reached Casalmaggiore proper; once parked we then explored the city on foot. We started out with the large central square, Piazza Garibaldi, with the neogothic town hall, the Palazzo Comunale, built in 1895. Next up was the Duomo, built in 1861 in a Neoclassical style over a pre-existing church. We then walked on through the old town passing by some nice picturesque streets lined by old porticoed houses and palaces. On the western and southern part of town, we then reached the Po River, the largest and longest in Italy, which flows right by the city and marks the border between Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna in that area. Continuing on, we passed by the Torrione, a tower once part of the group of fortifications built between the 15th and 16th centuries to defend the city. After a last stroll through town we ended up once again at the main square, now lit up for the evening. We then reached the car and eventually drove back to Vicenza.