Pavia is an ancient, interesting city just right for a one-day trip
outside Milano. The old city center can easily be covered on foot:
walking along the streets and squares, you can see the architectural
sights from centuries and centuries of history. From the Roman Era to
the Middle Ages, from the Visconti and Sforza eras to the Renaissance,
from Neoclassicism to Liberty style you will see remains in Pavia..
I recommend you end your trip by seeing the wonderful Certosa di
Pavia, that is 5 km outside the city, which was built around 1396 on
the wishes of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milano.
Pavia was the capital of the Longobards, it summarizes, with
its architecture, the historical periods of its history; the Visconti Castle and the university buildings, the Cathedral and the church of St.
Peter in Ciel d'Oro, the church of St. Michael, where the Longobard kings
were once crowned and just outside, the miracle of marble of the Certosa, the authentic jewel of the Renaissance arts.
Pavia: an itinerary to visit the city
Pavia, the ancient Roman city of Ticinum, later the
capital of the Longobards (571-774) and the Carolingians, at one point, overshadowed
Milano in importance, then fell into decay.
What remains is a
fascinating turreted city, medieval in aspect. Coming from Milano and the Certosa di Pavia, crossing Piazza Dante, we come immediately to San Pietro
in Ciel d'Oro, a magnificent Romanesque church of sandstone and brick, so
called (a ciel d'oro n means "golden sky") because of its ceiling which was
one time gilded; in it are buried St.Augustine (in a magnificent marble Tomb
of 1360), Severmus Boethius and King Liutprand.
From here we pass on to the Castello Visconteo, a handsome
square building with towers, crenellated walls and lovely courtyard: at
present, it houses a number of collections.
Turning down Corso Cairoli, we
come to the Gothic church of S. Francesco (13th century) and from here to the
University, one of the oldest in Italy. Beside the University rise three
medieval towers; together with the two in Via Porto these are the only ones
left intact of the hundred or more which once gave Pavia its peculiar
aspect.
Note also the famous Renaissance Colleges by Ghislieri,
Borromeo, Castiglioni etc. From the University take Via Roma to the Painting
Gallery in the Palazzo Malaspina in Piazza Petrarca: it contains an
important group of works by Antonello do Messina, Giovanni Bellini,
Correggio, Cima da Conegliano, Vivarlni, Foppa and others.
Taking Via Venti Settembre and passing by the Lombard-Gothic church of S.
Maria del Carmine, we reach the Renaissance Cathedral. Following Strada
Nuova and Corso Garibaldi, we come upon the jewel of Pavia, the flawless
church of San Michele, which is one of the most important creations of all
Romanesque architecture.
Pavia: how to get there
Pavia is on the Trenitalia train line from Milano to Genoa, it takes half an hour to go from Milano
to Pavia, and the trains run very frequently. There is a bus service to Linate Airport and the nearby Certosa di Pavia as well as cities and
towns in Lombardy. The train and bus stations are in the west part of
town and linked to the historic center by Corso Cavour. It is easy to
walk in Pavia's compact center but there is local bus service, too.
Pavia is a good destination for a one day trip from Milano when the
weather is good, as in wintertime there is frequently heavy fog that
prevents the enjoyment of the place.
the large fortified Castello Visconteo (built in 1360 by
Galeazzo II Visconti).
The
Broletto
The
Duomo di Pavia, the Cathedral was founded in 1488 and
completed only in 1898, when the facade and the dome were completed
according to the original design. The central dome has an octagonal
plan, and stand at 97 m high, weighing some 20,000 tons. The dome of
the Duomo di Pavia is the third for
size in Italy, after St. Peter's Basilica and Santa Maria del Fiore
in Florence. Next to the Duomo were the Civic Tower (existing
at least from 1330 and enlarged in 1583 by Pellegrino Tibaldi): its
fall on March 17, 1989 was the final motivating force that started
the efforts to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa from a similar fate.
(*) Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.)
Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
