Cremona

Cremona is a Lombard city of nearly 71,000 inhabitants (in 2021), located in the Po Valley, a short distance from the river. It became famous thanks to its luthier Stradivarius whose violins’ quality was quickly recognized as exceptional in the 17th century.
It is a city of art dating back to antiquity, which was fortified by the Romans in 218 BCE.

On its splendid central square, the Cremona Cathedral and the baptistery form one of the finest examples of the transition in northern Italy from Romanesque art to the local Gothic style. There is also the Communal Palace and the great bell tower (the torrazzo) which reaches 112 meters in height.

Its historic violin-making workshops have been producing quality violins for 500 years.

Tourist sites in Cremona

Piazza del Comune

It is certainly one of the most beautiful squares in Italy, striking first by the height of the bell tower known as Torrazzo, then by the contrast between the red of the latter’s bricks, the white and pink of the cathedral’s marbles, and the two mixed with the baptistery.
For centuries it concentrated civil and religious powers, with on one side the Duomo, the bell tower and the Baptistery, and opposite the Loggia dei Militi and the Communal Palace.

Cathedral and Baptistery

Duomo and baptistery

The Duomo or cathedral Santa Maria Assunta of Cremona is one of the most beautiful Romanesque buildings in northern Italy.
Built from the 12th century onward, it brings together Gothic and Baroque elements, with a facade blending white Carrara marble and pink Verona marble, with a large central rose window and a beautiful loggia.
It preserves an extraordinary cycle of frescoes that earned it the title of “Sistine Chapel of the Po Valley”, works by Boccaccino, Bembo and Melone that depict the stories of the life of Mary and the Passion. There is also a very beautiful Great Cross of 3 meters in gold and silver, or a crypt with the Ark of Saints Marcellinus and Peter (16th century).

The octagonal baptistery of Cremona was built from 1167 with a dome, a beautiful baptismal font, the statue of the Archangel Gabriel and three altars.

Torrazzo

Torrazzo

The cathedral’s bell tower, this great tower 112 meters high is a symbol of Cremona. 502 steps must be climbed to reach the top, an effort largely rewarded by the view over the city and the surroundings.
It was built in two different periods, and on the fourth floor there is an astronomical clock more than 8 meters wide.

Communal Palace and Loggia dei Militi

Palazzo del Comune

Facing the duomo, the red brick facade is that of the communal palace, which was the center of civil power since 1206.
Nowadays, the interior is divided into several rooms and preserves works by Genovesino, two 17th-century canvases with the Multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the Last Supper.

The Loggia dei Militi (loggia of the Militias) which gathered the city’s militias, was built at the end of the 13th century, with its large porch and ogival windows on the upper floor.

The Violin Museum

The Palazzo dell’Arte houses the Violin Museum, an instrument associated with Cremona for 5 centuries, which preserves instruments notably made by the great masters such as Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri. A luthier’s workshop shows the manufacturing process. One can listen to excerpts of great concerts and in the Auditorium designed especially for it, one can listen live to performances with old Stradivarius violins.

Ala Ponzone Civic Museum

Saint Francis in Meditation, by Caravaggio

The Palazzo Affaitati houses an interesting museum with nearly 2,000 works, including paintings, sculptures and musical instruments, with above all a Saint Francis in Meditation by Caravaggio and an Ortolano by Arcimboldo.

San Giuseppe in San Sigismondo

Outside the city center, the church of the San Giuseppe in San Sigismondo monastery, with a simple exterior, preserves inside a cycle of frescoes typical of Lombard Mannerism, made in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Artisan shops

In Via Solferino and its surroundings, behind the central square, one finds workshops and historic shops including Sperlari, specializing in nougats, chocolate, jams, or Vergari with Cremona nougat, the Lanfranchi pastry shop with Cremona Bread, the Duomo pastry shop, the Ebbli pastry shop, artisan luthiers, etc.

Gallery

Map

Information

• Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org
• Tourist portals: www.turismocremona.it, www.in-lombardia.it