Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
centuries brought peace and prosperity, until Napoleon arrived to upset the apple cart in
1797.
At the heart of the city is enchanting, porticoed Piazza del Duomo, a Venetian renova-
tion of the early 16th century dominated by the brick facade of the medieval
Duomo
a vento
(wind facade) and is of typically Lombard Gothic style, which uses Romanesque
devices (especially the semicircular arch) but on a far grander scale. To the left of the
cathedral rises the
Torre Pretoria
, a family watchtower dating to 1286 that bears a sculpture
of the lion of St Mark. The porticoes across the way belong to the early 16th-century
baroque form in the 17th century and became purely decorative.
Crowning a Crema visit is one of the most striking Renaissance structures in Lombardy,
the
Santuario di Santa Maria della Croce
(Piazza Papa Paolo Giovanni II; 7am-noon & 2.30-7pm Mon-Sat,
8am-7pm Sun)
, built between 1490 and 1500 and about 1.5km north of the old town along
Viale di Santa Maria della Croce. The graceful circular central body of the church has
wedding-cake layers of increasingly delicate arches, and four bronze-domed chapels push
out from it below, forming a cross. The octagonal interior is brimful of frescoes.
Eating
OSTERIA
€€
Osteria del Rumí
( 0371 25 72 89; Piazza Trento e Trieste 12, Crema; meals €30-35; 7-9.30pm Fri, noon-2pm & 7-9.30pm Sat-
Wed)
Just off Piazza del Duomo, this Tuscan-style eatery offers bags of boisterous atmo-
sphere at timber tables beneath low-slung brick and stone vaults. You could start with a
selection of bruschetta or choose from a range of first courses that include local risottos,
followed by
stufato d'anatra con polenta
(stewed duck in polenta).
Information
0373 8 10 20;
www.prolococrema.it
;
Piazza Duomo 22)
Organises guided tours of the
Pro Loco Crema
(
defensive walls.
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