Montodine between the Adda, Serio and sacred buildings

Montodine lies on a promontory that separates the present-day Serio Valley to the east from the ancient Adda river valley to the west. At the same time, the town is situated on the Serio near the point where the river flows into the Adda. When planning your trip, this location brings together river landscapes and culture.

River Valleys and Routes

Two routes follow different courses. The “Tra Adda e Serio” route runs along the left bank of the Adda from its confluence with the Po to Montodine. The “Percorso verde” is a circular route through the Adda and Serio valleys between the bridges of Cavenago d’Adda and Bertonico. When planning your days in Montodine, you can take different route patterns and landscape areas into consideration. This makes choosing a route a question of your preferred daily rhythm, not just the course of the route.

Sacred Buildings with Distinctive Details

The Oratorio del Rosario was built by the Compagnia del Rosario approximately between 1611 and 1618. It preserves a fresco cycle by Gian Giacomo Barbelli from 1641 depicting the fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary. The defensive tower of Palazzo Benvenuti was built by Gerolamo Benvenuti in 1646; its square ground plan and five storeys give the building precise architectural contours.

The parish church of Santa Maria Maddalena Penitente was built between 1726 and 1731. The Oratorio di San Rocco has a central octagonal ground plan and was built between 1630 and 1647 as a votive building commemorating the plague of 1630. The Oratorio della SS. Trinità was built between 1724 and 1726. The different architectural forms range from the square tower plan of Palazzo Benvenuti to the octagonal Oratorio di San Rocco. Trinità has a terracotta façade and a slender bell tower, and is another example of Baroque architectural language in the Cremasco area.

Festivals between Remembrance and Ritual

The festivals also closely connect sacred architecture with local tradition. The Feast of the Madonna del Rosario takes place on the first Sunday in October and includes a procession with the statue of the Madonna on the Serio. At the Feast of San Rocco on 16 August, unsalted loaves of bread are prepared and blessed during the ceremony. For trip planning, the first Sunday in October and 16 August mark two clearly distinct points in the course of the year. Those who plan their stay around these dates can choose between an autumn Sunday with a procession and a fixed August date featuring the blessing of unsalted bread.

Getting to Montodine

By car, Montodine can be reached via the provincial road that runs between Bergamo and Piacenza as the former S.S. 591. The nearest railway stations are in Castelleone and Crema. This gives you road and rail as two different travel options for planning your journey.

For more ideas of places to visit, you can also discover San Latino, San Giovanni in Croce, Castel Gabbiano, Sospiro, Crema, Torlino Vimercati, Spino D'adda and Corte De' Frati.

Return to the higher-level travel overview: Cremona.