Mantua
For more than 300 years the enormous Palazzo Ducale was the seat of the Gonzaga – a family of wealthy horse breeders who rose to power in the 14th century…
Must-see attractions in Central Lombardy
Brescia
You could spend a whole day in this monster of a museum housed in an ex-monastery and still have plenty left for another visit. Those with limited time…
Cremona
Cremona’s history echoes to sound of violins and violin-making, meaning a visit to this relatively new, state-of-the-art museum is practically obligatory…
Bergamo
Just east of the old city walls is one of Italy's great art repositories. Founded in 1780, it contains an exceptional range of Italian masters. Raphael's…
Bergamo
Bergamo's colossal, square-based Torre del Campanone soars 52m above the city. It still tolls a bell at 10pm, the legacy of an old curfew. Taking the lift…
Mantua
Palazzo Te was where Frederico II Gonzaga escaped for love trysts with his mistress Isabella Boschetti, and it's decorated in playboy style with stunning…
Bergamo
On the northwest side of Piazza Vecchia, the fresco-dappled Palazzo del Podestà was traditionally home to Venice's representative in Bergamo. Today, the…
Bergamo
The Upper Town's beating heart is the cafe-clad Piazza Vecchia, lined by elegant architecture that is a testament in stone and brick to Bergamo's long and…
Cremona
Welcome to an ecclesial colossus. Cremona’s cathedral started out as a Romanesque basilica, but the simplicity of that style later gave way to an…
Parco Nazionale delle Incisioni Rupestri
Central Lombardy
About halfway between Darfo and Edolo, the Parco Nazionale delle Incisioni Rupestri is a 30-hectare open-air museum containing rock engravings that date…
Central Lombardy
On the north bank of the Adda river, a short stroll from the centre, this ambitious art installation blends the natural world with the religious in…
Brescia
Brescia’s impressive archaeological complex cleverly reconstructs the city’s Roman past from fragments first discovered in the 1820s. It consists of three…
Cremona
Cremona's 111m-tall torrazzo (bell tower, although 'torrazzo' translates literally as ‘great, fat tower’) is the third tallest brick bell tower in the…
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Bergamo
Bergamo's most striking church, begun in 1137, is quite a mishmash of styles. To its whirl of Romanesque apses (on which some external frescoes remain…
Lake Iseo
Monte Isola towers from the south end of Lake Iseo, making it easily the lake's most intriguing feature. It's Europe's largest lake island, at 4.28 sq km,…
Brescia
The most compelling of all Brescia's religious monuments is the 11th-century Duomo Vecchio, a rare example of a circular-plan Romanesque basilica, built…
Mantua
Easily usurping Mantua's cathedral, this towering basilica safeguards the golden vessels said to hold earth soaked by the blood of Christ. Longinus, the…
Fortifcazioni di Pizzighettone
Central Lombardy
Pizzighettone's big attraction is its well-preserved rampart wall, which still encircles its small historic centre. The walls were designed in the 12th…
Bergamo
One of several towns in Italy with an intact ring of defences, Bergamo’s impressive walls were built by the Venetians over 30 years starting in 1561…
Cremona
Set in the spacious halls of the Palazzo Affaitati, Cremona's finest art gallery houses an exquisite collection of paintings dating from the 15th to the…
Mantua
The weather-worn, 11th-century, Lombard Romanesque Rotonda di San Lorenzo is sunk below the level of the square, its red-brick walls still decorated with…
Mantua
Piazza Sordello is the oldest square in Mantua, and was probably the location of the Etruscan town. The existing layout is thanks to the Gonzagas, whose…
Brescia
The original Mille Miglia (Thousand Miles) ran between 1927 and 1957 and was one of Italy's most legendary endurance car races – it started in Brescia and…
Mantua
One of half a dozen squares that embellish Mantua's historic centre, the Broletto is home to the Palazzo del Podestà, once home to the city's highest…
Mantua
If ever a theatre were set to upstage the actors, it's the 18th-century Teatro Bibiena. Dimly lit and festooned with plush velvet, its highly unusual,…
Casinò di San Pellegrino Terme
Central Lombardy
Built in 1907, the striking Casinò di San Pellegrino Terme is full of whimsical detail. The stile liberty facade bears reliefs and sculptures of…
Central Lombardy
The Tempio Civico dell'Incoronata was built in the late 15th century at the prompting of the local citizenry, apparently after a sighting of the Virgin…
Cremona
A few kilometres southeast of the old city, the 15th-century Chiesa di San Sigismondo features a 16th-century fresco cycle that is a superb example of…
Museo dei Tasso e della Storia Postale
Central Lombardy
In the slumbering village of Cornello dei Tasso, this small museum chronicles contributions made by the Tasso family, who back in the 15th and 16th…
Museo Nazionale della Preistoria della Valle Camonica
Central Lombardy
Capo di Ponte's newest attraction, which opened in 2014, delves into the fascinating prehistoric sites scattered around the Valle Camonica. The small…
Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
Bergamo
GAMeC, as the gallery is known, sits opposite the more prestigious Accademia Carrara and displays modern works by Italian artists like Giacomo Balla,…
Central Lombardy
Soncino's most impressive church is outside the old centre, about a 12-minute walk (1km) from the Rocca Sforzesca. The plain brick facade hides a fabulous…
Brescia
This 17th-century palace houses two separate museums, and it makes a worthwhile detour while exploring Brescia's historic sites. The Brixia Light Box …
Bergamo
The Cappella Colleoni, attached to the north side of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, was built between 1472 and 1476 as a magnificent mausoleum-cum…
Central Lombardy
A Jewish family on the run from persecution in Germany wound up here in the mid-15th century, changed the family name to Sonsino and began a trade that,…
Central Lombardy
Eight kilometres north of San Pellegrino Terme, Cornello dei Tasso (signposted off the SS470) is a compact time warp, a golden stone medieval hamlet high…
Mantua
Once the location of the town's vegetable market, Piazza delle Erbe is Mantua's most lively piazza. Its 13th-century Palazzo della Ragione sports a 15th…
Central Lombardy
With its four stout towers, crenellations, moat and drawbridge, you can almost see the Rocca of Soncino under siege by some enemy of Milan's Sforza clan,…
Brescia
Set in a salubrious park atop a hill, Brescia’s impressive castle is a great place for aimless wandering (early mornings are best), soaking up views and…
Central Lombardy
Five kilometres south of Provaglio, in the hamlet of Bornato, stands a 13th-century castle, with imposing crenellated walls, and a Renaissance villa set…
