Production area

Spring is the ideal time of year to visit Novarese, home of Gorgonzola and a land rich in rice and other delicacies. “The land of herons,” is how Dante Graziosi (1915-1992) described eastern Piedmont from his Molino della Baraggia. Today, a literary bicycle tour itinerary is dedicated to the writer, an excellent starting point for exploring rice fields, irrigation ditches bordered by rows of poplar trees, farmsteads and castellazzi clustered in small villages.

Pavia can be reached by bicycle from Milan in a couple of hours by following the Naviglio Pavese canal. It was also known by the name “city of a hundred towers”-at one time, in fact, there were about 78 towers used as defense and as a symbol of rivalry between historic families.

The best way to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of this small Lombard architectural jewel is to reach Bergamo Alta aboard the city’s most fascinating means of transport: the ancient funicular railway that for 120 years has connected the center of Bergamo with the Upper Town, and in particular with Piazza delle Scarpe, which in the 15th century was used to sell shoes.

To get to know Cremona, the place to start is certainly the striking Piazza del Comune, overlooked by the city’s main monuments: the Cathedral with its different architectural styles; the Torrazzo, the tallest brick bell tower in Italy; the Baptistery and the Loggia dei Militi, one of Cremona’s oldest buildings.

The second most populous municipality in Lombardy after Milan, Brescia’s origins date back more than 3200 years. The “Lioness,” nicknamed so by Carducci because of his attachment to the Venetian republic, has such a rich artistic and architectural heritage, especially from Roman and Lombard times, that it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lodi is an important center in dairy production. By virtue of a territory, predominantly devoted to agriculture and animal husbandry, it is home to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Milan and the Parco Tecnologico Padano, one of the most qualified research institutes in Europe in the field of agrifood biotechnology.

It was the capital of the Lombard Empire (Empress Theodolinda’s crown is still preserved in the cathedral chapel), the summer residence of the Austrian royal house in the late 1700s and of the Savoy family in the 1800s. In short, Monza has seen many crowned heads pass through its glorious past. Today the town on the outskirts of Milan is one of the most productive areas in Europe.

Opened at the end of 2019, the new museum route with the House Museum on the lower floor and the Art Gallery on the upper floor is located in the Caleotto district, near the center. It was here that Alessandro Manzoni spent his childhood and youth, before going to Paris to his mother Giulia Beccaria. From these rooms he could admire the Lecco mountains and the calm waters of the Adda River and Lake Como-an area that became the setting for one of the world’s best-known love stories.

There are two installations in the city that pay homage to an illustrious Como native, Alessandro Volta, inventor of the battery. The first is the Volta Temple, a 1927 neoclassical building erected to celebrate Volta on the centenary of his death. Welcoming visitors are two statues facing each other, Faith and Science. The central hall on the ground floor displays the apparatus, instruments and devices used by the scientist. The second voltiana installation is the 2015 sculpture “The life electric,” designed by archistar Daniel Libeskind and placed on the breakwater.

The urban center of Milan has developed over the centuries around the first Celtic nucleus (590 B.C.), which corresponds to today’s Piazza della Scala, from which our Milanese walk through the city center symbolically starts. Here since 1778 stands the eponymous neoclassical-style theater designed by Piermarini, one of the world’s best-known opera houses, though not the oldest, which owes its name to none other than the Church of Santa Maria alla Scala demolished to make way for the theater.

Sixty kilometers from Milan is the “garden city,” or Varese, which is ideal to visit even in the warmer months thanks to the nearby lake and the city’s many green spaces (hence the nickname). In addition, not everyone knows that Varese lies on seven hills just like Rome!

The Piedmont province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, known as “the blue province,” is a must-see destination for all nature lovers thanks to the two lakes between which it is nestled (Lake Orta, or Cusio, and Lake Maggiore, or Verbano), parks, botanical gardens and spas. Its landscape has made it one of the most popular destinations for international tourism beloved by poets such as Flaubert, Dickens and Stendhal.

Strolling through the small town center you can admire the Baptistery, the Cathedral, the Santo Stefano Bell Tower, and many beautiful villas and palaces from different historical periods. There is also no shortage of tourist destinations outside the city, especially from an environmental and nature perspective. We are talking about the Zegna Oasis, the Burcina Park and the Baragge Nature Reserve (which also includes Novara and Vercelli).

Cuneo is nicknamed the “capital of the Granda” because it is the fourth largest province in Italy. It rises at the confluence of the Stura and Chalk rivers hence the characteristic wedge shape that inspired its name. Apparently, this area, sheltered by the two rivers, was chosen as a refuge to escape the harassment of the marquises of Monferrato and Saluzzo by peasants who settled there together with some Milanese fugitives.

Not to be missed, of course, is a visit to the famous Certosa di Pavia, a historic monumental complex that includes a monastery and a shrine. It is located in the eponymous municipality of Certosa di Pavia, about eight kilometers north of the provincial capital. Built at the end of the 14th century at the behest of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of Milan, in fulfillment of the vow of his consort Caterina and as a sepulchral mausoleum of the Milanese dynasty, it sums up several styles, from late Italian Gothic to Renaissance. Its construction took about 50 years and was completed in the late 1400s.

Casale Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria, has been an important center since Roman times. French and Spanish fought over it, between 1600 and 1700, and during the Risorgimento it was one of the bulwarks against the Austrian Empire. Its development was halted only with the outbreak of World War II, but resumed soon afterwards thanks in part to the reconstruction of the bridge over the Po, which had been bombed during the conflict. The city continued to expand and new industrial plants were established.