Travel Guide to Piacenza, Italy

Piacenza is one of the oldest cities in Italy, which is rich in symbolic places. It attracts tourists by large choice of excursion routes.

Start your acquaintance with the history of the city from visiting Municipal Museum built in the 16th century. It hosts several collections of paintings and sculptures. The most valuable item of the collection is a picture of Botticelli, which is called "The Virgin and Child with John the Baptist". In the center of the city you will find one of its main landmarks - Cathedral of San Antonio. It was built in the 12th century and became the chief decoration of the city. The main entrance of the cathedral is decorated with magnificent bas-reliefs, but the internal decoration is quite grim and gloomy. Here you will see heavy arches, the rooms wrapped in darkness, and the figures of priests frozen in the niches. Art connoisseurs may determine the style of the cathedral as a unique combination of Gothic and Romanesque architecture.

The central part of the city is occupied by Piazza-dei-Cavalli Squarre, where you can see several monuments from the Middle Ages and the main architectural masterpiece - Palazzo Gotico. Piacenza is sometimes called the city of a hundred churches. If you go to the observation area and look at the panorama of the city, you will really see dozens of church towers that stand proudly among other buildings. Palazzo Farneze castle requires particular attention. Nowadays a museum has been opened in the walls of this palace. It provides visitors with information concerning the fate of the castle's owners, the Dukes of Farnese, who have played a significant role in the fate of the city. After visiting numerous attractions and places it is time to go to one of the local restaurants and taste best culinary masterpieces of Italian cooks. La Casa di Campagna is considered the most beautiful dining facility of the city. This restaurant literally dives in lush green trees and flower beds.