San Giovanni in Croce - San Giovanni in Croce

San Giovanni in Croce is a Municipality of Lombardy.

To know

Geographical notes

It is located in the south-eastern part of the province of Cremona, which takes the name of Casalasco. It is 32 km from Cremona, capital of the province; 12 km. from Casalmaggiore, the capital of Casalasco.

Background

It was in 1407 that Cabrino Fondulo had the Castle of San Giovanni in Croce built, a crossroads on the routes to Parma, Mantua, Brescia and Cremona, with a quadrilateral plan with four Ghibelline towers and a moat. At his death the lands came into possession of the Duke of Mantua, then of the Republic of Venice.

In 1441 the inhabitants gave themselves to Filippo Maria Visconti. After the rise of the Sforza to Dukes of Milan, the castle of San Giovanni in Croce was assigned by Giovanni Galeazzo Sforza to the leader Giampietro Carminati Bergamino, who had the title of Count. The descendant Count Lodovico Carminati Bergamino married Cecilia Gallerani at the behest of the Duke of Milan Lodovico il Moro.

Cecilia seems to be responsible for the beginning of the refinement of the fortress which in the following centuries will lead to the transformation of the castle from a bulwark of defense and military offense to a noble residence. His court was of a high cultural level and the fiefdom experienced its golden age at that time. The fame of Gallerani, however, is inextricably linked, more than to her history as a castellana, to the portrait that the great Leonardo da Vinci made of her: The Lady with an Ermine.

The fiefdom of San Giovanni in Croce also included the villages of Gussola is Martignana di Po. These three centers were separated in 1623; San Giovanni in Croce passed to Cesare Vidoni; Gussola and Martignana formed another fief which was sold to Giacomo Antonio Annoni.

How to orient yourself

How to get

By plane

• Airport greens of Parma
• Airport Catullus of Verona
• Airport D'Annunzio of Montichiari (BS)
• Airport Caravaggio of Orio al Serio (BG)

By car

Parma toll booth on the Autostrada del Sole

• former state road 343 Asolana (Brescia-Parma)

• 87 Giuseppina (Casalmaggiore-Cremona);

It is located at the intersection of the former Asolana state road Parma - Casalmaggiore - Buttonhole - Brescia and the Provincial Giuseppina Cremona - Casalmaggiore

It is located at the intersection of the former Asolana state road Parma - Casalmaggiore - Buttonhole - Brescia and the Provincial Giuseppina Cremona - Casalmaggiore

On the train

It has its own station on the Parma - Brescia line

By bus

• Coach line Casalmaggiore - Buttonhole

How to get around

What see

• 45.07803510.373161 Villa Medici del Vascello, ☎ 39 370 3379804. Adults: € 8.50, up to 18 years: free, over 65s: € 7.00. every Sunday from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm; last admission at 4.30pm. Located in the frieze of the former Asolana state road, in the center of San Giovanni in Croce, the villa makes a fine show of itself, surrounded by a large park, to those who pass through the state road or the road that leads to Solarolo Rainerio and Cremona. Erected in 1407 as a castle and stronghold for military defense at the crossroads of important roads that led and still lead to Cremona, Mantua, Brescia is Parma, its physiognomy has been transformed over the centuries, gradually losing its ancient military character to become an elegant suburban residence of the noble owners.

Passed by Cabrino Fondulo to the Carminati Bergamino, then to the Court of Spain, then to the cavalry general of the state of Milan Alfonso Pimentel, it subsequently comes into the possession of the Vidoni marquises, finally of the Soresina-Vidoni marquises

The latter, who became Princes by concession of Francis I of Austria, are the architects of the construction of the vast garden park behind the Villa: an extension of approximately 500,000 square meters. In the center of the park there is a small lake, surrounded by various constructions: an Indian temple, a Doric temple, Gothic ruins, a Dutch hut. The opening of the Mannerist loggia, on the southern front of the castle, must be placed during the Vidoni period. In this way, the main facade of the building is rotated, which previously had two entrances on the east-west axis, while now the main axis is in a north-south direction. The other radical transformation, the plan of the Villa which changes from square to U, is always a contribution of the Vidonis.

Oratory of the Holy Trinity

With the extinction of the Soresina-Vidoni family, the villa becomes the property of the Mocenigo-Soranzo family of Venice. On the death of the last heir, the Marquise Carla Medici del Vascello, the villa falls into a state of neglect and serious decay.

Today the acquisition by the Municipality (2005) and the beginning of the recovery and restoration works of an asset that represents, in the Casalasco area, one of the most interesting historical and artistic expressions.

Currently (2016) the large park is used for cultural and recreational events and events. : The restoration work has reached a more than satisfactory level, so much so that the building is increasingly used for events, exhibitions and guided tours. Further interventions are planned for the park and the temples that are located there. 

• 45.07836610.3738962 Oratory of the Holy Trinity. A short distance from the Villa Medici del Vascello, in the frieze of the former state road Asolana, already stands the Oratory of the Holy Trinity Confraternity of the Disciplines of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Grace. Begun in 1586, its construction was completed in the first decades of the seventeenth century.

In 1789 the Confraternity was suppressed, like other similar associations. The church remained. 

• Villa Grasselli. 

In San Zavedro

• 45.07605910.3827413 Church of San Zavedro. Not far from the center of San Giovanni, in an ancient inhabited nucleus that was perhaps the ancient town, there is the church of San Zavedro, dedicated to a Saint ... who is not there!. Zavedro is in fact the transformation of San Zàn Veterus, where is it Zàn or Zuàn it derives from Venetian influences, a reminder of the presence of the Serenissima, in some periods, in these lands; therefore the church is dedicated to San Giovanni, which became San Giovanni Vecchio when the parish church was established in San Giovanni in Croce.

Recent excavations have highlighted the perimeter foundations of a much older, smaller temple inside the church, whose north walls coincide with the current construction. The primitive church dates back to the 7th century, with a single nave and three semicircular apses.

The exact dating of the current church is not known, but it is inclined to place it in the late Gothic period.

The central nave is illuminated by the rose window on the facade as well as by side windows. Cylindrical pillars support the ribs of the cross vaults.

Interesting frescoes, altars, paintings and furnishings of San Zavedro are now found in the parish church of San Giovanni. Various renovations in later times have marred the original beauty of the church, which in recent times has fortunately had restoration works that have brought attention to the great cultural importance of this monument. The polygonal apse reveals traces of the ancient fifteenth-century decoration. The altar of the Madonna of the Consortium it preserves a fresco which confirms the probable dating of the present church to the late Gothic period.

Around 1500 the custom was established to bury prelates and members of noble families inside the church.

Tradition, unsupported by certain findings, has it that Cecilia Gallerani, Lady of San Giovanni, also had her burial in San Zavedro Lady with an Ermine.

The legend

It is said that San Zavedro was built at the behest of Theodolinda, Queen of the Lombards. 

• Villa Pigozza. 

Events and parties

• Patronal feast of San Giovanni Battista. on June 24. 
• fair. the fourth Sunday of September. 

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Average prices

• Trattoria Dal Mago, via Matteotti 40 (in the direction of Casalmaggiore), ☎ 39 0375 91096. — 
• Locanda Ca 'Rossa, via Giuseppina 20 (in the direction of Cremona), ☎ 39 0375 311076, 39 0375 311086. — 

Where stay

Safety

Pharmacy

• Franzini, Via Giacomo Matteotti, 89, ☎ 39 0375 91014. 

How to keep in touch

Post office

• 45.07802710.3745141 Italian post, Dante Alighieri square, ☎ 39 0375 310245. 

Keep informed

• Oglio Po news. Computer newspaper of Oglio Po. 
• ^{[link not working]}The Envoy. Online newspaper of the province - Casalmaggiore Chronicle. 
• The province, Via Pozzi, 15, ☎ 39 0375 200493, fax: 39 0375 201466. Daily newspaper - Casalmaggiore editorial staff. 

Around

• Parma - One of the major cities of art inEmilia, it maintains with great evidence the aspect, elegance and ways of life of a capital, as it was for centuries. The Farnese della Pilotta palace, the Romanesque Cathedral, the Steccata church are some of the monumental emergencies that characterize the city; of great fame his theater, his musical tradition (Giuseppe Verdi), his school of painting (Correggio, Parmigianino), his love for good food (Parma ham, salami, Parmigiano Reggiano, Lambrusco).
• Mantua - Capital of the Gonzagas, it still exudes its subtle charm as a great city of art for which it appoints it a UNESCO World Heritage Site it was not so much a recognition as a necessary acknowledgment. Its ancient atmospheres are incomparable, the profiles of the palaces and domes that stand out in the Po Valley mist enveloped by the mirror of its lakes, its endless Gonzaga palace that incorporates numerous buildings in the city center.
• Sabbioneta - City of foundation, UNESCO World Heritage Site, maintains the walls within which the magic of ideal urban planning by Vespasiano Gonzaga has remained intact; the Teatro all'Antica, the Palazzo Ducale, the Gallery, the Incoronata church are some of its monuments that stand out in a context that has been admirably preserved.
• Pomponesco - City of foundation, it owes its sixteenth-century urban structure to Giulio Cesare Gonzaga in which the scenic porticoed square stands out, which connects with a staircase to the Po embankment, on which the archpriest church and the civic palace overlook on two sides unfortunately only a few traces of the castle remain on the fourth side.
• Colorno - Its Royal Palace belonged to the Sanseverino family, then to the Farnese family, to Maria Luigia of Austria, to the Bourbons; it is by far the most important monument of this little Versailles Parma, which also offers a small but beautiful historic center, close to the Lorno stream that gives it its name and Parma, not far from the Po.
• Casteldidone - Villa Mina della Scala is a fascinating castle building that embodies the grandeur of the castle and the elegance of the villa. Built in the sixteenth century, remodeled in the seventeenth century and then in the eighteenth century, the castle that became a palace and villa still looks majestic and fascinating in the countryside of Casteldidone.
• Castelponzone - The country of rope makers, to which the local museum is dedicated, has maintained its appearance of an old Po Valley center with porticoes; in its urban planning you can guess the design of the fortifications it once had, when it was a feud and Castle of the Ponzone. It is part of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
• Casalmaggiore - Capital of Casalasco, protected by mighty embankments, the city develops parallel to the bed of the Po. The wide breath of the main square, the undeniable majesty of the Town Hall and the Cathedral reveal its character as an important center of the Bassa. The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Fontana, the church of Santa Chiara, the church of the Hospital are among its outstanding monuments.

Itineraries

• In the lands of the Gonzagas - An itinerary through the centers, large and small, which were the capitals of the Gonzaga cadet branches: principalities, marquisates, duchies which, within the Mantuan state structure, enjoyed real independence, often minted coins and held refined courts that rivaled that of Mantua, embellished their urban centers by equipping them with elegant architecture - churches, squares, palaces, walls, towers - and characteristic urban views such as the typical Gonzaga arcades.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning San Giovanni in Croce
• Commons contains images or other files on San Giovanni in Croce

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