Piacenza (Emilia Romagna): what to see


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What to see in Piacenza, one-day itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Duomo, Palazzo Farnese, Palazzo del Governatore, Ricci Oddi gallery and public gardens.


Tourist information

Located near the border between Emilia Romagna and Lombardy, Piacenza has the typical medieval aspect and is still partially surrounded by sixteenth-century walls.

It is called the Firstborn, since in 1848 it was the first Italian city to request, after a popular consultation, annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia.


Piazza Cavalli, which is the main meeting place, was formerly called Piazza Grande.

The current name derives from the presence of two bronze equestrian statues, located in front of the Palazzo Pubblico, also called the Gothic Palace and dating back to 1281, which constitutes a valid example of civil architecture in Lombard Gothic style.

The main places of interest and monuments to visit include many religious buildings, including the Cathedral, built between 1122 and 1233 in Romanesque style.


What see

The Duomo or Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and Santa Giustina, represents the main place of Catholic worship elevated to the dignity of a minor basilica.

The gabled facade is made of pink Veronese marble and sandstone, with vertical tripartition through two pillars, in the lower part there are three portals, surmounted by protiras and decorated with capitals, architraves, tiles and caryatids.

The right-hand portal shows the stories of Christ on the architrave, while the archivolt depicts elaborate plant and geometric motifs.


The bell tower of 1330, which is 71 m high and built in brick, has a bell cell that opens externally with four four-light windows, arranged one on each side, on the top there is the statue of an angel with an anemometer function.

The interior, with a Latin cross plan, has three naves, divided by twenty-five columns, the transept is also divided into three naves, and you can also admire remarkable seventeenth-century frescoes.

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The Church of San Francesco, located in Piazza Cavalli at the intersection with Via XX Settembre and built in Lombard Gothic style of 1100, has a facade where two buttresses are visible, a rose window and a cusp, as well as some spiers, while arches rampant show off on the sides.

Inside, which is decorated with frescoes from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the annexation of the city to the Kingdom of Sardinia was proclaimed in 1848.

Above the central portal of the basilica there is a lunette containing the relief of San Francesco with the received stigmata.

In addition, the patriot Giuseppe Manfredi, who was the first president of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy, is buried in this place of worship.

In Piazza delle Crociate there is the church of Santa Maria di Campagna, built between 1522 and 1528 as a place where to keep a Madonna believed to be miraculous, made of wood decorated with various colors and called Madonna della Campagnola.

Among the most interesting civil architecture, there are the Palazzo del Governatore and the Palazzo dei Mercanti, located in Piazza dei Cavalli.

Palazzo Farnese, located in Piazza Cittadella, houses the Civic Museums and the State Archive.


The wonderful public and private gardens located among the various buildings of the historic center also deserve to be seen.

You can also visit the Ricci Oddi gallery, dedicated to modern art, the civic museum and the art gallery.

Piacenza - Emilia Romagna - Italy - city tour (March 2024)


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