I Love Touring Italy - Small Town Lombardy
If you are looking for a European tourist destination,
consider the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
Depending on your interests, this beautiful area might
be an ideal vacation spot. You can get classic Italian
food, and wash it down with fine local wine.There
are even some parts of Lombardy that are relatively
undiscovered by tourists. This article presents Lombardy
outside of its capital Milan or the beautiful Lake
districts, which are described in companion articles in
this series.
Over the millennia Lombardy has been in the hands of
numerous invaders including the Etruscans and the Gauls,
then the Romans, Franks, and Goths, and finally the
French, Spaniards, and Austrians. Did we forget the
Lombards? These invaders all left their mark, some more
and some less. Keep local history in mind as you tour
this impressive region.
We begin our tour at Pavia about twenty-five miles
(forty kilometers) south of Milan. Then we proceed
southeast to Cremona. We continue east to finish this
short tour at Mantua near the Veneto border.
Once upon a time little Pavia (population about 70
thousand) was a major rival of nearby Milan (city
population about 1.3 million and metropolitan population
over 5 million.) Its defeat by the Barbarians in 476
commonly marks the end of the Western Roman Empire.
Almost nine hundred years later the internationally
known University of Pavia was founded, based
on a law and divinity school established by the year
825. Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta
was the most famous individual associated with this
university. It was Volta who discovered methane gas and
invented the electric battery. Whenever you think about
volts and voltage, you should think about Pavia.
Arguably the most famous native of Pavia was Benedetto
Cairoli, the 13th and 15th Prime Minister of the Kingdom
of Italy. He was somewhat of a hero during Risorgimento
(the fight for Italian independence) but had a
relatively undistinguished career as Prime Minister with
a single exception. Cairoli risked his life and was
severely wounded when he successfully protected the
unpopular King Umberto I from assassination early in his
reign. Now let's consider Pavia's sights.
Pavia is home to many other churches worth seeing. The
Lombard-Romanesque San Michele Maggiore Church was
constructed on the site of a preexisting Lombard church.
Initially destroyed a few years after the turn of the
first millennium it was rebuilt during the Twelfth
Century. The Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro (St.
Peter in Golden Sky) actually originated in the
beginning of the Seventh Century. Its name refers to
gold leaf mosaics that formerly decorated parts of the
ceiling. This basilica was featured in Bocaccio's
Decameron. You may also want to see the Thirteenth
Century brick Santa Maria del
Carmine Church and the Renaissance Santa Maria di
Canepanova Church.
Head about five miles (eight kilometers) north of town
to see Pavia's number one attraction, the Fifteenth
Century Certosa di Pavia (Charterhouse of Pavia)
monastery. This complex, which took over a century to
build, is considered an excellent expression of Gothic
and Renaissance architecture. It includes a great
collection of paintings and stained glass windows. The
church was meant to house the tombs of its owners, the
noble Visconti family but only one family member is
actually buried there. His tomb took over sixty years to
build. Nearby is the tomb of another Duke and his wife
Beatrice d'Este, a real Renaissance woman and a beauty
as well, who died in childbirth at age 22. You may have
heard of her sister-in-law, Lucrezia Borgia.
The city of Cremona, population about seventy thousand,
was first settled well over two thousand years ago. The
famous Roman poet Virgil went to school there and owned
a family farm in the vicinity. Another name is indelibly
linked to this city, that of Antonio Stradivari, the
world's greatest violinmaker. His masterpieces are
simply the world's best-known and most expensive
stringed instruments. As they say about yachts, if you
have to ask the price, you can't afford it. It's not
sour grapes, but frankly what would I do with a
Stradivari violin, or mandolin? Perhaps trade it for vintage wine and Champagne.
The violin as we know it was invented in Cremona around
1564 by Andrea Amati who died more than sixty years
before Stradivari was born. The Guarneri family created
world famous violins here and elsewhere in Italy. Today
more than 50 violinmakers hang their hat in Cremona. The
Piazza Roma square near Stradivari's house and workshop
contains his tombstone and grave. The city includes the
Scuola Internazionale di Liuteria (International School
of Violin Making) and the Museo Stradivariano
(Stradivarius Museum)
Our next and final stop is the city of Mantua whose
population is slightly under fifty thousand. Mantua may
have been founded about four thousand years ago. The
great Roman poet Virgil was born in a nearby village. In
the Twelfth Century Mantua adopted a novel means of
protection against invasion, by constructing four
artificial lakes surrounding the city. Three of them
exist to this day; the fourth dried up during the
Eighteenth Century. If you remember your Shakespeare,
Romeo fled to Mantua after killing Juliet's cousin in a
swordfight. Talk about a family feud.
Mantua's Palazzo Ducale was built between the Fourteenth
and Seventeenth Centuries and boasts some 500 rooms. Its
centerpiece is the Camera degli Sposi (The Wedding
Chamber) room that took Andrea Mantegna about seven
years to paint. When you see it, you'll know why. Since
you're only allowed ten minutes to admire this marvelous,
unique room you should familiarize yourself with the
painting before your allotted time slot. Don't forget to
look up, the ceiling is beautiful.
Finish your tour at the suburban Palazzo Te built in the
Sixteenth Century. Unlike many other historic Italian
buildings this one was completed in only ten years. In
fact its shell went up in eighteen months. In spite of
its speedy construction it is considered one of the
greatest Renaissance palaces. Don't forget to tour the
Camera di Amore e Psiche (Cupid and Psyche's Room)
showing a wedding with quite interesting and unusual
guests and the Camera dei Giganti (Room of the Titans)
in which Jupiter expels the Titans from Mount Olympus.
The walls are peppered with Seventeenth Century
graffiti. Please don't add your own.
What about food? Of Italy's twenty regions Lombardy
trails only Emilia-Romagna in food production. A lot of
the food is of foreign origin, not surprising given the
frequency with which Lombardy fell under outside
domination. But there are also local specialties. For
example, Cremona is known for Mostarda, mustard flavored
candied fruits that accompany Bollito Misto, mixed
boiled meats. A local version of this treat calls for
calf's head, veal tongue, and pig's foot among others.
Cremona also claims to have invented ravioli.
Let's suggest a sample menu, one of many. Start with
Zuppa alla Pavese (Soup with Bread, Butter, Eggs, and
grated Parmesan Cheese). Then try Bollito Misto (Mixed
Boiled Meats). For dessert indulge yourself with Colombe
Pasquale (dove shaped Easter Bread with Candied Fruit).
Increase your dining pleasure by including local wines
with your meal.
We conclude with a quick look at Lombardy wine. Lombardy
ranks 11th among the 20 Italian regions for both acreage
devoted to wine grapes and for total annual wine
production. The region produces about 62% red and rose
and 38% white wine, but there is little rose. There are
15 DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine
Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of
Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. The G
in DOCG stands for Garantita, but there is absolutely no
guarantee that such wines are truly superior. Over 47%
of Lombardy wine carries the DOC or DOCG designation.
There are three DOCG wines: the sparkling Franciacorta
said to compete with French Champagne and priced
accordingly, the red Sforzato di Valtellina, and the red
Valtellina Superiore.
Lambrusco Mantovano DOC is a red or rose dry or sweet
fizzy wine produced southeast of Mantua from local
grapes. The San Colombano al Lambro DOC is red or white
still or fizzy wine made from a variety of local grapes
found about halfway between Milan and Cremona. By far
the area's best-known wine is the Oltrepo Pavese DOC
grown south of Pavia, across the Po River, hence its
name. This wine, the favorite of Milan, is made in
several styles from multiple grape varieties.
About the author:
Levi Reiss has authored alone or with a
co-author ten computer and Internet books, but to tell
the truth, he would really rather just drink fine
French, German, or other wine, accompanied by the right
foods. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for
the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in
moderation. He teaches classes in computers at an
Ontario French-language community college. Visit his new
wine, diet, health, and nutrition website www.wineinyourdiet.com and
his global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com.
