Bassa del Po di Lombardia is one of the four tourist areas into which the Lombardy.
To know
In these lands of blazing sunsets over the Po and infinite green horizons, interrupted only by rows of poplars or by soaring isolated bell towers of ancient country churches, where in summer the sun beats stubbornly until it burns the grass and stubble, where in autumn the silence of nature is often guarded by a muffled blanket of fog that envelops and moistens everything, the outlines of cities emerge in the reverberation of the scorching sun or among the autumn mists: cities of art such as Vigevano, Pavia, Praise, Cremona, Mantua, the unparalleled capital of the Gonzagas, Sabbioneta, the realization of the urban dream of Vespasiano Gonzaga, (the latter two awarded byUNESCO of the prestigious recognition of World Heritage Site); walled cities like Pizzighettone it's still Sabbioneta; cities clinging to the bank of the Po that mirror their profile of towers and bell towers in the waters of the river, such as Casalmaggiore; cities that were small but sumptuous courtyards and made the Gonzaga dynasty great, only to return to a secluded life, while retaining the precious urban evidence of their past greatness: Cocoon, Rivarolo Mantovano, Pomponesco.
Geographical notes
The Bassa of the region is all the fertile flat land that extends along the course of the Po, which mostly marks the southern border with theEmilia Romagna, with the exception ofOltrepò Pavese andOltrepò Mantua which develop on the right bank of the largest Italian river. The only hilly environments we find them in Lodigiano with the hill of San Colombano al Lambro, corrugation of the land of just over a hundred meters above sea level, and in the southern area of the Oltrepo Pavese, which is wedged in the Apennines between Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna up to the buttresses of Mount Lesima which stands at 1524 meters above sea level. The largest valley in this area is the Staffora Valley, whose main mountain center is Varzi; the Staffora, before entering the Po, laps Voghera, the main city of the Oltrepo Pavese. Lower Lombardy is a land of water and rivers; the Sesia marks the border with Piedmont to the west, in the Lomellina di Vigevano, and then to the east Agogna, Ticino, Olona, Lambro, Adda, Oglio, Mincio, Secchia, Tione: finally the Po, which collects all these tributaries, the great river through which this plain was formed which constitutes the most fertile agricultural area in the region.
Territories and tourist destinations
Lomellina - If the south of Lombardy is rich in water, in Lomellina this precious element is even more present in the vast expanses of flooded countryside, the rice paddies where the rice plants flourish as far as the eye can see. Lomello, the ancient capital of the Lombard County from which this corner of the region takes its name, retains notable evidence of its important role; Vigevano, the main center, is a city of art and industries; Mortara it is an important center of agricultural markets and is famous for its characteristic goose salami.
Oltrepò Pavese - South of the Po, is the extreme southern offshoot of Lombardy, which with theOltrepò Pavese it reaches the Apennine peaks until it almost touches the Liguria. Voghera is its capital, and Casteggio, Broni, Stradella are the other main centers of the plain. Varzi is the largest urban nucleus of the hill, capital of the mountainous area of Staffora Valley, which offers a very interesting itinerary among castles and parish churches of notable beauty, bequests of the numerous lords that fought over the area. The territory also boasts the presence of two spas: Salice Terme, of greater fame, and the neighbor Rivanazzano Terme.
Pavese - Bordered by Ticino and Po to the west and south, the plain of Pavia it extends east almost to the Lambro. The city is known for its Charterhouse, a few kilometers north on the road to Milan, for its ancient and prestigious University, for its monumental heritage. Belgioioso is Bereguardo both retain a castle. Miradolo Terme it is a spa resort.
Lodigiano - Between Po, Lambro and Adda, the territory of Praise it has important agricultural and dairy activities, as well as a good industrial development in the northern part on the border with the Milan area. Always an aggregating center of the area, Lodi was important at the time of the free municipalities. Destroyed during the struggles with the empire, rebuilt by Barbarossa, it developed a remarkable monumental heritage that makes it a city of great interest. Consistent centers of the area are Codogno, Casalpusterlengo, San Colombano al Lambro.
Cremonese - The district of Cremona it is a land of agriculture and food industry or the processing of agricultural products. The city, somewhat excluded from large projects and set aside by the most dynamic and strongest areas of the Region, lives a life that is always somewhat the same and itself, in the shadow of its ancient nucleus of great beauty, in memory of when it was, after Milan, the most powerful and richest center of the Duchy. It is proverbially said that the fame of Cremona it is enclosed in his Three T.: Turòn (nougat), Turàs (Torrazzo) and T ....: two physical components that seem to be particularly prosperous in the Cremona area.
Oglio Po - The spearhead of this fertile plain area between Oglio and Po is without a shadow of a doubt Sabbioneta, creature by Vespasiano Gonzaga who wanted to build it from nothing to make it true the Renaissance dream of ideal city. The almost complete tour of its walls, the narrow cobbled streets with oblong white river pebbles, its secluded and shy churches, or monumental and well visible, the palaces, the beautiful escape of the long colonnade of the Galleria del Palazzo del Giardino, the small asymmetrical open spaces keep intact the atmosphere of this small capital which had a fleeting life of splendor that lasted only as long as the life of its creator Vespasian. After his death the city returned to the shadows, forgotten and a little neglected, until the great redemption: the inclusion of his name in the register of places recognized as World Heritage.
Mantuan - This area is the heart of the Duchy of Mantua, and the city is still not so much the capital, but the Capital. Of very distant Etruscan substratum, then Celtic, was the city of which Virgil said: Mantua me genuit, thus giving her immortality. However, it was the Gonzagas who shaped it until it became that World Heritage Site which has been preserved to this day. Stripped of the history of the immeasurable art treasures that the Gonzagas had accumulated, there are still the palaces and churches, castles and fortifications, suburban villas and villas in the countryside, frescoes and decorations, bearing witness to the role of top notch covered by the city.
Oltrepò Mantua - The monks of the ancient abbey of Polirone (between Po and Lirone) reclaimed this flat plain on the right of the Po, making it fertile and productive. Large estates were concentrated in the hands of a family which, once it reached a great economic power, took to the rise of political power. Thus it was that the Corradi di Gonzaga became the Gonzagas, lords of Mantua, and wrote their name in the history book. Each city or small town of the Oltrepò (like the other lands of the Duchy of Mantua) retains characteristics, urban structure and Gonzaga monuments: San Benedetto Po, Sermide, Revere, Quistello, Felonica, Parish church of Coriano, Poggio Rusco, Quingentole is Gonzaga.
Urban centers
- Casalmaggiore - Protected by mighty embankments, the city develops parallel to the bed of the Po. The wide breadth of the main square, the undeniable majesty of the Town Hall and the Cathedral reveal its character as an important center of the Bassa.
- Cremona - It has a monumental historic center among the most distinguished in Lombardy. It was a Roman city. It was powerful at the time of the Communes and rivaled Milan, which finally subdued it. His violins (Stradivari and Amati), his Torrazzo and even more his torrone, are known everywhere. Now, like Mantua, he suffers a certain marginality.
- Praise - Fanfulla da Lodi has made known the name, but the ancient one Laus Nova, rebuilt by Barbarossa after that Laus Pompeia (now Lodi Vecchio, with the Basilica of San Bassiano) had been destroyed during the struggles between the Municipalities and the Empire, it was already of solid fame in ancient times. Its monumental center is remarkable. .
- Mantua - World Heritage ofUNESCO. The recognition seals the prestige and charm of the capital of the Gonzagas, who made it one of the most refined courts in Renaissance Europe. The Doge's Palace (actually an agglomeration of buildings from various eras) is one of the largest royal houses.
- Pavia - The reddish ocher color of the bricks from which its monuments have admirably taken shape - the castle, the churches, the covered bridge, the palaces - is the tone that dominates its beautiful historic center. It is the same color from which the enchanting white of the marbles of the façade in the Certosa di Pavia emanates, its most famous jewel of art, set in the emerald green of its countryside. .
- Sabbioneta - World Heritage ofUNESCO. Vespasiano Gonzaga dreamed of it and built it according to the canons of the ideal city; within its circle of starry walls, the charm of this small capital that seems to rise out of nowhere in the countryside is rediscovered intact sandy of the Po.
- Suzzara - Industrialization has significantly expanded the size of the city, with new districts and production areas; the old nucleus, on the other hand, maintains the structure of the Po country centers, with long streets of low arcaded houses. Most populous center ofOltrepò Mantua, is located in an eccentric position in the extreme west of the territory, a breath away from the border with the Emilia area Guastalla. .
- Viadana - Paired with Casalmaggiore is co-capital ofOglio Po, whose tourist pearl is Sabbioneta. It was the Lordship of the Cavalcabò and the Gonzaga Marquisate. Its historic center, of good interest, lives of Po Valley and Gonzaga atmospheres, but reveals the need for safeguarding and restoration interventions. .
- Vigevano - The harmonious scenography of its Piazza Ducale, a splendid Renaissance work dominated by the towering castle tower that was built by the Milanese dukes, alone is enough to make it clear that Vigevano is not only and reductively the capital of the shoe, an industry for which it is a leader, but it is rightly an art city that preserves and offers important monuments from its illustrious past.
- Voghera - The proverbial housewife from Voghera, after having delighted the visitor's palate with the tasty cuisine of the area (various first courses of stuffed pasta, Varzi salami and cheeses from Val Staffora, accompanied by the renowned wines of the Oltrepò), would not disfigure even accompanying him to visit the historic center of city, in a soberly elegant Lombard Piedmontese style, enclosed in the hexagonal circle of avenues that run along the layout of the ancient walls.
Thermal centers
- Miradolo Terme - Between Olona, Lambro and Po, this spa [1] of the Pavese benefits from a good network of public connections with Milan, Praise, Cremona, Pavia is Piacenza.
- Rivanazzano Terme - The waters of its thermal baths [2] they were probably known since ancient times, but have been systematically exploited in recent times. It borders on Salice, another thermal center ofOltrepò Pavese.
- Salice Terme - It is almost conurbated with Rivanazzano, although it is part of the municipal territory of Godiasco. The healing qualities of its thermal waters were well known to the Romans, who already used them. Its thermal baths [3][link not working] they enjoy greater fame than those of nearby Rivanazzano.
Other destinations
- Cocoon - Gonzaga court, it was the capital of a Principality that bore his name. It retains a noble historic center.
- Pomponesco - Another fine example of the elegant production urban planning of the Gonzagas.
- Parma Morta nature reserve - Immediately beyond the Po, reachable through the road bridges of Casalmaggiore is Viadana in the locality Mezzani.
- Rivarolo Mantovano - It preserves its beautiful historic center almost intact, with three turreted gates in perfect condition and remains of walls.
How to get
By plane
They are Lombard airports:
- 1 Bergamo-Orio al Serio Airport (the Caravaggio), Via Aeroporto 13, Orio al Serio, ☎ 39 035 326323.
- 2 Milan-Malpensa Airport (MXP), Ferno. The airport has two terminals (T1 and T2), the second is used for low cost flights. The bus service Motorway connects the airport with Milan central station in about 50 minutes, while the Malpensa Express it connects Terminal 1 with Cadorna station (red and green line underground) in 40 minutes. The buses of the Sadem is Motorway reach the city of Turin (2 hours), while the company Foxes make a few trips for Genoa (3 hours).
- Brescia Airport (D'Annunzio), Via Aeroporto 34, Montichiari (Connections with Brescia airport are guaranteed by public transport via the bus. The stop a Brescia city is located at the bus station (number 23), while that of the airport is at the front of the terminal. There are also connections to the city of Verona via bus / shuttle line 1), ☎ 39 045 8095666, @[email protected]. Charter and Cargo flights only
The area is also affected by the airports of:
- 3 Verona Airport (Catullus), Boxes of Sommacampagna, ☎ 39 045 8095666, fax: 39 045 8619074, @[email protected].
- 4 Parma airport (G. Verdi), Via Emilia - Golese locality, ☎ 39 0521 951511.
- 5 Bologna airport, Via Triumvirato 84, ☎ 39 051 6479615.
How to get around
By bike
 | To learn more, see: Cycle tourism in Lombardy. |
What see
Itineraries
- Historic villages of the Po - The itinerary, from west to east or vice versa, leads to know some historic villages that rise near the "great river".
