Sights in Pavia
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Museo Civico
Looming over the old town is the forbidding Castello Visconteo, built in 1360 for Galeazzo II Visconti. It now houses the Museo Civico. Intriguing collections include archaeological, ethnographic and art collections, plus displays on medieval Pavia, the Renaissance, the Risorgimento (the Italian reunification period) and, in the east tower, a section on Somalia (once an Italian colony).
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B
Università degli Studi di Pavia
Christopher Columbus and inventor of the electric battery, Alessandro Volta, are two illustrious graduates of the Università degli Studi di Pavia. Founded as a school in the 9th century, it became a university in 1361. You can wander around the grounds and courtyards when the university is open.
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C
Cathedral
Crowning the town centre is the immense dome of Pavia’s red-brick cathedral, which is Italy’s third largest. Da Vinci and Bramante contributed to the design of the cathedral, which was begun in 1488 but not completed until the 19th century. In 1989, its bell tower collapsed, killing four people.
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Certosa di Pavia
One of the Italian Renaissance’s most notable buildings is the splendid Certosa di Pavia. Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan founded the monastery, 10km north of Pavia, in 1396 as a private chapel for the Visconti family and a home for 12 monks.
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D
Museo per la Storia dell’Università di Pavia
The stately campus of the Università degli Studi di Pavia houses the small Museo per la Storia dell’Università di Pavia, with exhibits on its history.
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E
Watchtowers
More than 100 medieval watchtowers once enveloped the old town; the trio of watchtowers on Piazza di Leonardo da Vinci is all that remains today.
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F
Basilica di San Michele
Barbarossa was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1155 at the Basilica di San Michele, built in the Romanesque style in 1090.
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G
Castello Visconteo
Looming over the old town is the forbidding Castello Visconteo, built in 1360 for Galeazzo II Visconti. It now houses the Museo Civico.
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