Cities of art and their burgs
A visit to Piacenza means discovering museums, churches and nobility palaces rich in art and culture. But if you raise your eyes, you’ll find out that at the same time the hills and places surrounding the city also present a great variety of cities of art, castles and medieval burgs.
Bobbio, considered as the pearl of Val Trebbia, can be recognized from far-away because of Ponte Gobbo (the ‘hunchbacked bridge’), the high cathedral tower bells and St. Columban’s basilica. In the summer nights the squares surrounded by arcades and the narrow medieval streets are animated by lights and music and the many restaurants will give you the possibility to taste the typical ‘maccheroni’, a kind of pasta, home-made using a knitting needle, that can be seasoned with different sauces: mushrooms, hare or beef stew. In sunny days, after having laid in the sun along the Trebbia River banks, the burg becomes the right place where to have a refreshing drink. Bobbio is also a jewel of medieval architecture. Its history began between the IX and X century when St. Columban’s abbey became one of the most important religious and cultural centres in Europe. The abbey complex is composed of St. Columban’s basilica and Museum, Santa Fara square, the former church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the cloister with the City Museum. In the heart of the burg there’s the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta overlooking Piazza Maggiore, while the Malaspina castle courtyard is a good place to admire the whole burg together with the surrounding hills. Bobbio received from Italian Touring Club the Orange Flags Award because of the environmental and tourist quality of the hinterland.
In Val Trebbia you can also visit the charming medieval burg of Rivalta, property of Zanardi Landi Earls starting from the XX century second half.
The burg is little but complete: in the restaurants you can eat our typical dishes, in the medieval donjon, nowadays used as a winery, you can sip D.o.c. wines, the shops offer handicraft objects, and the XIV century church of San Martino is perfect for weddings.
The castle, surrounded by a verdant park, is really worth a visit. Those who will fall in love with this burg can spend at least one night in the luxury hotel, where charm and elegance are synonimes of refinement and good taste.
In the verdant Val Nure, situated in a fairy-tale setting, Grazzano Visconti is one of the most famous and visited cities of art of our province. The quiet streets, the gardens, the water fountains, the handicraft shops - the whole in medieval style – come to a new life during the historical parades, when the burg is animated by knights, damsels, warriors, and squires.
The burg was wanted by Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone, who, at the end of XIX century, made the whole complex be built in neo gothic style around a XIV century castle. Nothing is missing: a hotel, restaurants, handicraft shops, and also the ghost of a soldier’s bride, whose name was Aloisa, who died after she knew that her husband had betrayed her. They tell that the ghost is still wandering in the burg looking for her lost love.
The medieval burg of Castell’ Arquato is in Val d’Arda. Situated on the hills of the Piacenziano Natural Reserve, it is both a City of Art and a City of Wine. Recognized also as one of the most beautiful Italian burgs, it received from the Italian Touring Club the Orange Flag Award.
Going uphill the narrow streets between rows of old houses made of stone, you’ll reach the burg on the top. The main square is surrounded by religious and political buildings: St. Mary’s Romanesque Church, the XIV century fortress and the Governor’s Palace, built at the end of XIII century and enlarged in the XV century. Have a look at the beautiful landscape from the fortress tower and after that, just relax tasting the typical cured pork meats or cheese while sipping a glass of wine in the nice winery. The geological museum preserves the fossils found in this area.
Again in Val d’Arda, the burg of Vigoleno is another one of the most beautiful Italian burgs. As a matter of fact it was awarded of the Orange Flag by the Italian Touring Club. Overlooking the Stirone Regional Park, it is characterized by battlemented walls surrounded by woods and vineyards. The whole architecture is Romanesque, starting from the panels representing ancient pilgrims up to the little squares once plenty of merchants and peasants. If you decide to visit this burg, you cannot forget to taste the famous ‘Vin Santo di Vigoleno’, a ‘passito’ wine made from dried grapes and kept in small casks for at least five year. It’s perfect if tasted with biscuits, cakes or tasty and strong cheese.
The magic of this out of time burg can be also discovered in a ‘trattoria’, where you can have a break and taste the delicious ‘torta fritta’ (fried thin bread dough) together with our D.o.p cured pork meats (‘coppa’, ‘salame’ and ‘pancetta’) or cheese.
A gift for you? Spend at least one night in one of the castle bedrooms. Unforgettable experience!
Situated on the plain next to Arda stream, Cortemaggiore, considered in the fifties as the hydrocarbons capital because of the many oilfields, is a typical Renaissance town.
The buildings design is simple but stately: straight and wide streets, set at right angles to the others and surrounded by arcades, nobility palaces and squares with tall bell towers remind us that the burg was the capital of Pallavicino State.
Visit the collegiate church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the church of Annunziata with Pordenone’s paintings and the mystic Franciscan friary.
On every first Sunday of each month you can visit the important antique trade market: more than 200 stands selling different objects. Don’t forget to buy as souvenir the locally produced liquors, made with walnuts (“nocino”), strawberries (“fragolino”) or maraschino.