The old Lombard town of Pavia, now a provincial capital, lies on the River Ticino near its junction with the Po, in the western part of the north Italian plain. It is linked with Milan by a shipping canal, the Naviglio di Pavia. With its old brick buildings it has preserved much of its medieval aspect and is notable particularly for its beautiful churches in Lombard Romanesque style. Of its once numerous towers, the fortified residences of noble families, few now remain, but it still has remains of the ramparts and bastions of the Spanish period. Pavia is the seat of a university.
Pavia, the Roman Ticinum, was a favorite residence of Theodoric the Great, and after the fall of Ravenna became for a short time the Ostrogothic capital. From 572 to 774 it was capital of the Lombard kingdom. From the seventh c. the town was known as Papia. During the Middle Ages many kings of Italy were crowned in the church of San Michele, as were the emperors Henry II and Frederick Barbarossa. The town remained for the most part faithful to the emperor, until it was handed over to the Visconti family by Charles IV in 1359. Francis I of France was defeated and taken prisoner at Pavia in 1525. In the 18th century the town was taken over by the Austrian Habsburg line.
A short distance east of the Ponte Coperto, on the northeast side of Pavia stands the Castello Visconteo (1360-65), a square building with a spacious courtyard; it houses the Municipal Museum (archeological finds, sculpture) and the Picture Gallery (Pinacoteca Malaspina) with some 500 paintings, including works by Bellini, Crivelli and Correggio.
Address: Castle of the Visconti, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
Hours:
March 1 to November 30: 9am-1:30pm; Sun:10am-7pm; Sat:10am-7pm; Closed: Mon
July 1 to August 31: 9am-1:30pm; Sun:9am-1pm; Closed: Mon, Mon
December 1 to February 28: 9am-1:30pm; Sun:9am-1pm; Closed: Mon, Mon, Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Day after Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day (December 26), Ascension Thursday - Christian
Southwest of the Broletto stands the cathedral, a building in Early Renaissance style on a centralized plan, begun by Cristoforo Rocchi in 1488 and continued with the collaboration of Amadeo and Bramante, with a dome over the crossing added in 1884-85 and a facade of 1898. Inside, note the paintings and pulpit reliefs. In the entrance is the "Adoration of the Magi", by Daniele Crespi.
550m/550yd east of San Teodoro, on the far side of the Strada Nuova, is the old coronation church of San Michele (1155), in Lombard Romanesque style, with a beautiful facade (rich ornaments and figural reliefs in a series of bands, surmounted by a gabled gallery) and fine interior with a 10th century silver crucifix and remains of a mosaic floor in the presbytery.
A short walk from the Castello is the old convent church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro (1132; restored 1875-99), in Lombard Romanesque style. In the choir is the splendid marble tomb (1362) of St Augustine (354-430).
Castello Balduino is located at Montalto Pavese, south of Pavia, about 10km/6mi south of Casteggio via the S10 or A21.
In 1909, the Balduino family bought the garden and castle and brought in Giovanni Chevalley to restore the gardens into 1735 design of Giovanni Antonio Veneroni.
The garden has been successfully restored to include: fountains and garden sculpture along a narrow walk; crisp geometric shapes mostly of box and yew, and terraces that follow the bastions of the original 13th century castle.
At the south end of the Strada Nuova, on the banks of the Ticino, is the Piazzale Ponte Ticino, from which the Ponte Coperto (built 1354, restored after war damage) leads into the suburban district of Borgo Ticino.
From the cathedral in Pavia we go south along Via dei Liguri and then turn right into Via Pietro Maffi to reach the Romanesque church of San Teodoro (12th century), which has frescoes including a view of Pavia (1522), immediately left, and a fine crypt (12th century).
Address: San Teodoro, Via Pietro Maffi, I-00168 Pavia, Italy
The 78m/257ft high brick-built tower Torre Civica (11th century), originally the clock-tower of an older church, collapsed on the morning of March 17th 1989 and buried four people.
Read More
Read Less
Read More
Certosa di Pavia
Read More
Read Less
Certosa di Pavia, Pavia
Castle of the Visconti, Pavia
Certosa di Pavia, Pavia
Castle of the Visconti, Pavia
Certosa di Pavia, Pavia
Castle of the Visconti, Pavia
Certosa di Pavia, Pavia
