Pavia, Discovering Pavia

If you get to coming from Milan, the first tourist destination which is worth seeing is the St. Peter in Golden Sky Basilica (Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, 12th century). Located in the square having the same name are, at the very end of the old city centre, the Longobard-built basilica preserves, together with the mortal remains of the philosopher Severino Boezio and the Lombard King Liutprando, the body of St. Augustine which was moved here in the 13th century. If you go eastwards you will reach the Castello Visconteo, a castle which Galeazzo II Visconti ordered to built between 1360 and 1365, a wonderful and refined royal residence. Now it hosts the Civic Museums (Musei Civici) which include: the archaeological, high Medieval, Romanesque, Renaissance sections as well as the Museum of Risorgimento (Museo del Risorgimento), the art galleries Pinacoteca Malaspina and Quadreria dell’Ottocento, and the “Luigi Ribecchi Bricchetti” Etnographic Museum (Museo Etnografico). Not far from here you will find one of the oldest European Universities. There you will see beautiful neoclassical buildings such as the Teresiana Library (Biblioteca Tersiana), the Anatomical Theatre (Teatro Anatomico) and the Physics Theatre (Teatro di Fisica) as well as the Pavia University History Museum (Museo per la Storia dell’Università di Pavia). If you go on along Corso Strada Nuova and then turn right onto via Roma, you will reach the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmen (Santa Maria del Carmine), an extraordinary example of Lombard-Gothic style. Started in 1375, its terracotta façade is encircled by six high spires and brightened by a central rose window as well as single and twin lancet windows. If you go a bit southwards, where once the Roman forum was, you will enter Piazza della Vittoria, once known as Piazza Grande and dating back to the 14th century. The biggest church of the city, the Cathedral (or Duomo), is within walking distance. Bramante, Leonardo da Vinci and Francesco di Giorgio Martini contributed to its construction between the 15th and 16th century. This Greek cross-shaped cathedral is surmounted by an octagonal dome which is 97 m high and ranks third in Italy in terms of size. If you go southwestwards you will reach the church of St. Theodore in which Romanesque paintings on pillars as well as Renaissance paintings are preserved. The crypt in the basement is absolutely breath-taking. If you go eastwards and take first via Maffi and then via Capsoni you will reach the St. Michael Church (Chiesa di San Michele), a masterpiece of the Romanesque architecture of Pavia, in which art treasures, such as the silver leaf crucifix of the 10th century known as Teodote’s, are preserved. Here, Federico I Barbarossa was crowned in 1155. The Covered Bridge (Ponte Coperto), a charming symbol of Pavia with its distinctive, is within walking distance. The bridge you will see is the post-war remodelling of the original one which was built in the 14th century on the ancient Roman bridge. On the other bank of the river is Borgo Ticino, a picturesque district full of typical taverns. In the middle of such district stands St. Mary in Bethlehem (Santa Maria in Betlemme), a Romanesque church of the 12th century. Next to it you will see the Ultraticino Hospital which once was used to give hospitality to the pilgrims walking on via Francigena.