Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Soncino
POP 7767
With its four stout towers, crenellations, moat and drawbridge, you can almost see the
Rocca ( 0374 84 88 83; www.prolocosoncino.it ; Largo Salvini 1; adult/reduced incl Casa degli Stampatori €4.50/3;
9am-1pm Tue-Fri, 10am-12.30pm & 2.30-7pm Sat, Sun & holidays Apr-Oct, closes earlier Nov-Mar) of Son-
cino under siege by some enemy of Milan's Sforza clan, which had it built on the site of a
more rudimentary fort in 1473. There's a modest history museum in rooms of two of the
towers, while from the courtyard you can visit various underground rooms. Parts of the
later Venetian city walls (Venice was in control for a brief decade from 1499) remain in-
tact too.
Another curiosity is the Casa degli Stampatori (Museo della Stampa;
0374 8 31 71; Via Lanfranco 6;
adult/reduced incl entry to Rocca €4.50/3; 9am-1pm Tue-Fri, 10am-12.30pm & 2.30-7pm Sat, Sun & holidays Apr-
Oct, closes earlier Nov-Mar) . A Jewish family on the run from persecution in Germany wound
up here in the mid-15th century, changed the family name to Sonsino and began a trade
that, at the time, was entirely new - book printing. The Sonsino family soon established a
Europe-wide reputation and printed the first Bible in Hebrew. On show in this charming,
three-storey brick house are various printing machines from the 19th and early 20th cen-
turies, a remake of a 15th-century model, and other tools of the trade.
Eating
Antica Rocca
( 0374 8 56 72; www.ristoranteanticarocca.it ; Via Cesare Battisti 1, Soncino; meals €25-30; 12.30-2.30pm &
7-10pm Tue-Sat, 12.30-2.30pm Sun) Local products are the name of the game in this busy family-
run eatery, barely a five-minute walk from the Rocca fortress, just over a canal. Inside, the
muted tangerine decor, timber furniture and quality linen lend the place a peaceful quality
in which to savour a risotto con asparagi e crema di formaggi (risotto with asparagus and
cream of cheeses).
ITALIAN €€
Information
0374 8 44 99; www.prolocosoncino.it ; Via Carlo Cattaneo 1) Opening hours are irreg-
Pro Loco Soncino (
ular.
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