The guided tour of Cremona will take you on a discovery of the historic city center, where its most important monuments are located.
We begin by strolling through the narrow streets of the old town and visiting the most beautiful square in the city, Piazza del Comune, where the most significant and historic civil and religious buildings are concentrated. Starting with the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, with its beautiful façade of white Carrara and red Verona marble, a large rose window, a two-story loggia, and two lions at the base of the columns that never fail to impress visitors. Inside the church, we’ll admire the soaring ceiling and the rich cycle of exquisite frescoes that earned the church the nickname “Sistine Chapel of the Po Valley.”

Next to the Cathedral stands the Torrazzo, the tallest bell tower in Europe at 112 meters, built entirely of brick. It has become the symbol of Cremona, featuring a large astronomical clock and a golden sphere at the top. It houses a relic of the True Cross and other sacred artifacts.

The guided tour continues with an exterior visit to the octagonal Baptistery, dating back to the 1100s, and the medieval Town Hall, which has been in use for over 800 years. We will visit the Hall of Paintings and the Consulta Room, which offers a panoramic view of the Cathedral and the Torrazzo. Before leaving the square, we stop at the Loggia dei Militi, one of the city’s historic buildings, and head toward the area where historic pastry shops such as Sperlari and Vergani are located. These are the birthplaces of the famous Cremonese nougat, as well as chocolate, jams, and the traditional local mostarda.

Among the narrow streets, we also find about 150 violin-making workshops (liuterie), where violins, string instruments, and bows are still handcrafted today.

We conclude the tour with a visit to the Church of Sant'Agostino, built in the Lombard Gothic style and later remodeled in the 1500s. It houses the beautiful altarpiece by Perugino and a series of marble statues.

Just a few steps away, we can admire the house where Cremona’s most illustrious citizen, the renowned luthier Antonio Stradivari, lived with his first wife in the 1600s. He is world-famous for his violins and their unique sound, and the city of Cremona honored him with a statue in front of his former home.