Holiday apartment in Cremona: Torrazzo, violin making and cycle routes

The climb up the Torrazzo leads via 502 steps to a top terrace with a 360-degree panorama. Cremona’s historic centre is served by public transport. Cremona railway station is served by the national railway company Trenitalia. Cremona is also located on the A21 motorway; the Cremona and Castelvetro Piacentino exits provide access from the north and south respectively.

Culture and history

The Torrazzo houses the Museo Verticale, an exhibition route covering astronomy, timekeeping, and the history and workings of the astronomical clock. At the Museo Civico Ala Ponzone, a section on the Middle Ages and the Quattrocento includes sculptures, detached frescoes, ceiling panels and an extensive selection of works from the circle of the Bembo family.

The Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli also opens various areas to visitors: the auditorium, royal box, stage and artists’ dressing rooms can be visited. The present-day building dates from 1808. Cremona’s tourist information office offers another way to explore the city’s history. It offers guided tours of the city and violin-making workshops every day.

Violin making is present in Cremona in several forms. The Museo del Violino presents five centuries of violin-making history, from Stradivari to the present day. The museum includes Stradivari exhibits and a reconstruction of a violin maker’s workshop. In Cremona’s violin-making workshops, visitors can observe part of the production of a stringed instrument and listen to explanations from a master violin maker. Traditional violin making in Cremona is protected as intangible UNESCO cultural heritage.

The history of fortifications continues in the surrounding region. The walls of Pizzighettone have been almost completely restored and can be visited in their interior areas and along the patrol walkways. The restored area of Pizzighettone’s former defensive complex can be used for walking; events and exhibitions take place in the accessible bastion rooms. In Soncino, the Rocca Sforzesca has several underground rooms, including a former prison, as well as an internal staircase leading from the basement to the Torre del Capitano.

The Museo della Stampa in Soncino displays printing presses, type cases and letter cases in the so-called Casa degli Stampatori. Printing activity in Soncino began in 1483 with the printing of the first book mentioned there and continued until 1490. The printers of Soncino produced a complete Bible in 1488.

Nature and routes

In the surrounding area, the Parco del Po e del Morbasco offers three recreational routes along the Cavo Morta, the Morbasco and the Po River. The route along the Morbasco reaches Via del Sale in Cremona via the river embankment. In the surrounding area, the Morbasco route passes meadows, small stands of poplars and riparian woodland with dense shrub vegetation along the watercourse.

Cremona’s cycle network covers more than 300 kilometres. Cremona’s cycle routes connect the city centre with the countryside of the Province of Cremona and its villages. One of these connections is the Lungo i Navigli Cremonesi route. It runs through the north-western part of the Province of Cremona along the towpaths of the 14th-century Naviglio civico di Cremona and the 19th-century Canale Vacchelli. The route also includes the Tombe Morte–Tredici Ponti hydraulic complex. Eighty per cent of it runs on protected cycle paths; otherwise, it follows minor roads with low traffic density.

The Ciclabile delle città murate route passes viewpoints on the Adda and Oglio, the natural slopes of their river valleys and the Tombe Morte–Tredici Ponti hydraulic junction. Thus, along the routes described, watercourses, riverside paths, historic canals, river valleys and villages are situated in different geographical relationships to one another.

Region and local specialities

A 48-hour itinerary through Cremona and the Province of Cremona passes through an area where the Po forms the border with Emilia-Romagna. The culinary character of the Cremona area includes six cheeses with protected designation of origin (DOP): Grana Padano, Provolone Valpadana, Taleggio, Quartirolo Lombardo, Gorgonzola and Salva Cremasco.

Other places: Soncino, Cremona, Costa Santʼ Abramo, Castelleone, Casalmaggiore, Corte De' Frati, Cicognolo, Crema, Drizzona, Stagno Lombardo, Torlino Vimercati, Torre De' Picenardi, Montodine, Pieve D'olmi, San Bassano, Gerre De' Caprioli, Sospiro, Bordolano, Motta Baluffi, Moscazzano, Castel Gabbiano, Credera, Vaiano Cremasco, Cansero, Gussola, Rivarolo Del Re, Spino D'adda, San Latino, Offanengo, Ca' De' Mari, Battaglia, Casteldidone, Pizzighettone, Soresina, Vailate, Cignone, Bagnolo Cremasco, Agnadello, San Giovanni in Croce, Boschetto, Pescarolo ed Uniti.

To the main travel overview: Lombardy.