The best traffic-free bike rides around Casalmorano

Pontevico is an Italian municipality of about 7,150 inhabitants located at the southern end of the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. The village stands in a historically strategic position along the Oglio river, which marks the natural border with the province of Cremona. The name derives from the Latin Pons Vici, which literally means "bridge of the village". The municipal territory is predominantly flat and includes the hamlets of Bettegno, Campazzo, Chiesuola and Toro. Local economy is historically divided between a strong agricultural vocation and an industrial textile development linked to the Bassa Bresciana district. The center is about 32 kilometers from the provincial capital Brescia and is easily reachable by car via the A21 motorway or by the Brescia-Cremona railway line.

Breathtaking

The walls and towers of Pizzighettone (Cremona) constitute one of the best-preserved and most significant walled circuits in Northern Italy. This imposing military fortress, lapped by the Adda river, rises to a height of about 12 meters and has a thickness that reaches 4 meters in some places. Its uniqueness lies in the presence of "casemates", a continuous series of internal rooms that are entirely covered and communicate with each other.

Worth seeing with a guided tour offered by the tourist office

The building was erected in the thirteenth century outside the ancient Roman city and, together with the church of Sant'Agata, formed the core of the new urban expansion in the Middle Ages, desired by the "civic" faction, as opposed to the "Notables", who had their center in Piazza del Comune. In the new palace, the "Società del Popolo" held its assemblies, elected its consuls, and conducted its business. Inspired by the architecture of the Palazzo Comunale, it stands in the square with a two-story facade: the lower floor consists of a portico with Gothic arches, and the upper floor is in brick and crowned with battlements, with four triple lancet windows illuminating a single large room. In 1410, the building became the seat of the university or Paratico dei mercanti dell'arte del pignolato (Guild of merchants of the art of Pignolato). https://www.turismocremona.it/en/palazzo-cittanova

Church of San Pietro (Shrine of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) in the nearby village of Gera, an 18th-century Marian sanctuary entirely covered in marble and mosaics to celebrate the figure of the Virgin, present both inside and outside at the initiative of the priest Pietro Mizzi (parish priest of Pizzighettone until 1999) who dedicated his entire life to its embellishment.

must see

Pizzighettone boasts one of the best-preserved city walls in Lombardy. Built in the Middle Ages and then reinforced during the Spanish era, they still surround a large portion of the historic center along the banks of the Adda River. The casemates and internal walkways allow you to imagine military life in the past, when the village was a strategic garrison between Milan and Cremona. Strolling around the walls, you can admire towers, bastions, and perfectly restored sections.