Things to do in Verretto Italy – what to see attractions and activities

The castle takes its name from the hamlet in which it is located. It was built between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It has a simple and linear structure, with a square plan, and at the corners of the square towers. Today it is clearly visible and is in excellent condition, except for the two towers that have been damaged over the centuries.

Branduzzo Castle is located in the homonymous municipality. In 1200 the structure was owned by the Botta family. Subsequently, it passed into the hands of different owners. According to some scholars, Bramantino worked in the castle, but there is no document that testifies to this fact. Currently, the castle is in a state of degradation and needs immediate restoration.

The Ossuary of the Battle of Montebello is located in the area of the ancient cemetery. It was built on 20 May 1882 to remember the remains of the fallen of the three armies struggling with each other. In 1902 it was renovated by Egidio Pozzi as it was damaged and needed work. Today it is in excellent condition and every year the commemoration takes place.

The Castle of Mornico is mentioned for the first time in a notarial act of 1350. It was home to the noble Belcredi family, who in the 18th century transformed it into a very elegant palace. After several renovations, the structure has assumed a Gothic aspect that it still maintains today.

Palazzo Dattili dates back to the Middle Ages and is famous because Napoleon Bonaparte stayed there after the battle of Casteggio-Montebello. Its structure is linear, with a neoclassical style and does not stand out compared to the other buildings in the area. Today it has the function of private property residence.

In the Historical Archives there are important documents that present the entire history of the community. In addition, the archive also contains testimonials from citizens. Those who want to know more about the history of this city can visit it freely. Admission is free.

The Visconti Castle was built around the 8th century. This construction is important for the fact that, over the years, it has been used with various functions, such as prison. Today, after many restorations, it is used by the Municipality for various events.

The Historical Museum of Voghera holds documents, weapons, memorabilia, uniforms and medals from the Napoleonic era to the present day. The Museum also houses the Beretta 34 gun that was used to kill Benito Mussolini and Claretta Petacci on 28 April 1945 in Dongo. The library and the attached archive keep letters from soldiers and officers from the front. There is also a painting with works by local painters among which Mario Maserati stands out.

The Museum of Natural Sciences was founded in 1971 from the will of a group of friends passionate about paleontology and mineralogy. During the Eighties the Museum became civic, donating its materials to the Municipality of Voghera. An exhibition path dedicated to botany and zoology has recently been inaugurated with windows that display the material found.

The Castle of Cigognola was built in the twelfth century with the intent to defend and control the traffic of nearby Via Emilia. It later became the home of the noble local families, reporting changes that turned it into a wine-growing promotion center. The Castle was recently restored by the current owners Letizia and Gianmarco Moratti.

It is located on a hill, elevated from the rest of the country and to the neighboring buildings. We talked about this building before the year 1000 of the Middle Ages. The castle stands out for its impressive crenellated tower, which is also the only testimony of the 'strong city'. Today the whole complex is used as private cockpits.

The Castle of Montu' was built in the twelfth century under the Belcredi family. It has an L-shaped structure and has been restored only lately, to readjust it to a private home.

The Civic Natural Museum “F. Lombardi” was founded in 1979 with the intent of collecting archaeological materials and fossils found in the River Po'. Subsequently, his task was to give an exhaustive picture of the Oltrepadano naturalistic environment.

The Civic Accordion Museum was inaugurated in 1999 at the headquarters of Palazzo Garibaldi in Stradella. The Museum welcomes several specimens of accordion starting from the most rudimentary to the most modern preserved in shop windows and pedestals. The rooms also host certificates, testimonies and historical documents hanging on the walls such as the events of Dallapè and some fascist advertisements.

The Civic Tower of Stradella was built by Gian Galeazzo Visconti who had previously also wanted the fortress of the city. The Tower, from the Middle Ages, has Ghibelline battlements. It supports the new bell tower built after the sinking of the previous one in 1834.

The Castle of Montesegale was built in the twelfth century on the pre-existing remains of an eleventh century tower. The fortress consists of a set of buildings from different eras and impressive square towers. Indoors, today is home to the Museum of Contemporary Art of the country.

The Covered Bridge of Pavia is located on the river Ticino, connects the historic city center and the rest of the city with the district of Borgo Ticino. The structure of the bridge is particular, since it consists of five arches and is completely covered with two portals at the ends and a religious chapel located in the center. The bridge was built in 1949, reproposing the forms of the ancient Covered Bridge, dating back to the fourteenth century.

The Borromeo College was built in 1561. The college building is one of the most impressive palaces in Lombardy, located in the green of its gardens and Borromaic Gardens. The College welcomes only students and students of the University of Pavia, selected through the public competition held every year.

It was built from 1488 on the site of the ancient Gemini churches and completed in the late eighteenth century. The building retains the Greek cross plan with a large central dome designed by Donato Bramante of Renaissance.

Casa Foscolo in Pavia was the home of the poet Ugo Foscolo. Inside you can admire beautiful frescoes and the beautiful courtyard outside the house. Ugo Foscolo moved to Pavia in 1808, was enchanted by the city, and for this reason he chose to buy the famous residence.

The monastery of Santa Maria Teodote, also known as Santa Maria della Pusterla, was one of the oldest and most important women's monasteries in Pavia. The small chapel dedicated to the Savior is one of the most refined complexes of Lombard architecture and painting of the early sixteenth century. The splendid decoration, which is presumed to be of Lombard origin is still visible on the wall north of the cloister.

The palace dates back to the fifteenth century and originally consisted of a large quadrilateral with turrets in each corner that made it take on the appearance of a castle. The windows are large with elegant window sills decorated with terracotta friezes. Only a few graffiti and fifteenth-century frescoes can still be seen on the southern side, but it retains all its charm thanks to a careful restoration that highlighted the inner courtyard and the monumental staircase.

The Episcopal Seminary is located on the old Lombard convent of Theodote, and dates back to 700. Thanks to its proximity to a small city gate, it is also called 'della Pusterla'. Legend says that Cuniperto, Lombard king, insulted a girl called Theodote, and in order not to let her speak, forced her to enter the convent. Some scholars, however, say that he built the building on purpose to lock up the maiden. On 12 July 1865 Monsignor Vincenzo Gandini took possession of it, and he restored it, and two years later the priests occupied it. From that day it has become the home of the formation of man and theological-spiritual of aspirants for priestly life.

The Collegio Spallanzani owes its name to the Professor of the Pavese University. This is a boarding school for boys. It consists of two structures, one that dates back to the nineteenth century and the other built in 1960. It has undergone restructuring over the years. The College offers many services, including a library, conference and study rooms, a gym, etc.

The construction of the building dates back to the end of the fourteenth century commissioned by Nicolino Dei Diverse. Surely it was one of the most elegant private residences of the time consisting of three floors above ground and a ground porch. Beautiful three-windows with marble columns were located on the first floor among which only one was rebuilt. In the courtyard, you could admire a great crucifix of the '400 that is now kept in the Civic Museum of the Castle.

The construction of Palazzo Bottigella-Gandini dates back to the late 1900s and was designed by G.A. Amadeo. The building rises above a pre-existing building of which remains only the central entrance portal with the initial wooden doors. The façade was painted and decorated in the Baroque period, but today there are no remains of it. Interesting to see is the courtyard, among the most beautiful of the Renaissance Pavese, with a beautiful porch and an elegant veranda on the upper floor.

The Cloister of Santa Maria alle Caccia owes its name to the fact that it was outside the walls of Pavia and was the place where the Lombards went for the hunt. It was built in 747 by the then King Rachis. During the centuries it suffered several damages and was rebuilt in 1936. However, the Lombard architectural structures remain visible, such as the windows outward and the column that separated the central nave from the left one. There are also frescoes as different as that of the vault, depicting the “Virgin carried by angels” by Andrea Lanzani.

The palace dates back to a medieval period, but almost nothing remains of the original core. In 1750 the building was purchased by the Marquis del Maino and then sold to the San Matteo Hospital. The construction reflects the best Pavese architecture of the '700 with small traces of the '300 structure such as sail vaults, terracotta decorations of the atrium and the magnificent marble portal dating back at Bramante. It has its own monumental entrance, the courtyard of honor and the enclosed garden. Currently the building is home to the Technical Services Area of the University of Pavia.

The church owns a pre-Romanesque structure, although the only part still visible and intact is the crypt. The fifteenth-century facade is decorated with a rose window in brick. Under the altar rests the body of San Biagio.

The Museum for the History of the University of Pavia was founded in 1932, and is located inside the central university building. It holds a large amount of scientific instruments, anatomical and pathological preparations, instruments of physics and surgery, documents and ancient volumes, which are a material testimony to the centuries-old history of the 'University of Pavia.

The most important town square, built by the Visconti in fourteenth century and extended northward to reach its current size, in the mid-fifteenth century. It is surrounded by interesting medieval buildings with colonnades.

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Canepanova was built between 1500 and 1507 by Giovanni Antonio Amedeo and represents one of the most significant monuments of the city of Pavia. The square construction reflects the ad quadratum style of the architect born in Pavia. The interior space is centrally planned with the eight sides of the dome projected into the square perimeter of the church. There are also works and canvases by artists such as the Procaccini depicting the “Women of the Bible” in the wing above the portal.

Founded in 1361, it had its headquarters from around 1485 in an old palace of Azzone Visconti. The current building - built over the centuries around the first nucleus, also occupying the fifteenth-century Hospital of San Matteo. The University Palace of Pavia contains an exceptional heritage of cultural heritage collected and preserved throughout its long history. In the Palace we find important collections of historical and scientific interest, unique in their kind. In the archives, it is possible to reconstruct the history of Italian technical and scientific thought and beyond.

The great church of the Carmelite Order from 1374. It has an imposing late-Gothic brick. Its architect was Bernardo da Venezia.

The Ghislieri College of Pavia is located in the historic center of Pavia and was erected in 1567. Today it is known as a highly qualified cultural institution. It is a private university college, and is reserved for students of the University of Pavia, it is accessed, on the basis of merit, through public competition.

The Botanical Garden of Pavia is part of the University of the same city and was formed by Fulgenzio Witman. Its current location dates back to 1700. The vegetable garden is rich in numerous collections. The attractions of the botanical garden are wild and ancient roses, azaleas and beautiful varieties of plants.

The Plinio Fraccaro College was founded in 1963, incorporating the nineteenth-century wing of the ancient San Matteo Hospital. In 1943 the building was occupied by German troops. The College is supported by the University with the collaboration of the Board for Public Works of Lombardy and the Ministry of Education.

The palace dates back to the beginning of the 18th century and was commissioned by L. Botta and was one of the most elegant residential homes. Over the centuries it has hosted great historical figures such as Napoleon, Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, Francis I of Austria and many others. The facade on Piazza Botta has a neoclassical style with eight protruding settlers. Inside there are still many testimonies of the time such as stuccoes and frescoes that decorate the main floor. Surely the jewel of the building is Napoleon's Room that still reserves the frescoes and stuccoes of the Rococo style.

Commissioned in 1569 by Pope Pius V to accommodate the students from Bosco Marengo. It is the work of Tibaldi as the Borromeo. Of the latter he resumes part of the structure, but it is less uniform, as the construction site was active for long.

The Cairoli College was founded in 1781, and is a university college of Pavia, located in the center of the city. The structure of the building is square, with a large garden. Today it is part of the EDISU residential network. To register for the College it is accessed only through the public competition.

The Gaetano Fraschini Theatre had its first season in 1773. For its architectural and artistic value, it is one of the most prestigious buildings. The large theater room is shaped like a horseshoe, it is the artistic example of the perspective research of the Baroque. Every year the theater offers a rich opera and theatrical season of prose, and music and ballet with artists from different parts of the world.

The Visconti Castle of Pavia represents one of the most important testimonies of the architectural and artistic heritage of the Duchy of Milan in the Lombard territory. The Visconteo Di Pavia castle is located north of the city, a typical example of Renaissance architecture. Inside it includes an elegant courtyard, with a porch supported by stone columns, inside which interesting cultural and musical events take place in summer.

An example of Romanesque architecture, famous for the precious relic of St. Augustine, kept in the late Gothic monumental marble arch.

The Civic Museums of Pavia are located at the Visconti Castle. The museum structure includes different sections: archaeological, Lombard, Romanesque and Renaissance, modern sculpture and Gipsotheque. The Visconti Castle houses the Pinacoteca Malaspina, the Art Gallery of the '600-'700, the Quadreria of the 1800s and the Morone Collection. In addition, they are part of the civic museums, the Museum of the Risorgimento and the L. Robecchi Bricchetti Museum.

Adjacent to the famous basilica of San Pietro of Ciel d'Oro, which houses the mortal remains St. Augustine. The monastery is currently subject to restoration.

The Museum of Mineralogy and Petrography is located at the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Pavia. It was created in the 18th century by Lazzaro Spallanzani, Paolo Sangiorgio and other mineralogy enthusiasts. The museum offers the public a rich collection of minerals (sulfates, silicates) and petrography.