Holiday apartment in Castelleone: Discover art, nature and trails

Castelleone combines sacred art, traces of the town’s history and the river landscape along the Serio Morto with a clear focus on walking and cycling.

Art and sacred architecture

Santa Maria in Bressanoro combines Franciscan traditions of devotion with Lombard architectural features. The church can be reached via an easy-to-walk path in the Bressanoro area, which lies just a short distance from Castelleone’s built-up centre. As a church of 15th-century Lombard art, it has a central floor plan in the shape of a Greek cross. At the top of the drum is a painted Crucifixion with panels depicting scenes from the life of Christ.

Historic traces in the town centre

The Torre Isso, Il Torrazzo, is a 47-metre-high brick structure and a remnant of Castelleone’s former fortifications. The arcades run past the forecourt of the parish church and Piazza del Comune towards the former Palazzo Brunenghi, which now houses the town museum and municipal library. The Arco del Voghera, known locally as the Voltone, is another prominent architectural feature. It was designed by Luigi Voghera, and the arch was built in 1834. Neoclassical forms, a round arch and two pairs of columns with Ionic capitals define its appearance.

Museum and sacred history

The Civico Museo di Castelleone displays worked stone tools from the Mesolithic period. They provide evidence of hunter settlements on the terraces beside the old riverbed of the Serio, also known as the Serio Morto. The Santuario della Beata Vergine della Misericordia was begun in 1513 to a design by Agostino Fondulo and completed in 1525. Inside are 16th-century frescoes depicting Christ and the Apostles on the sides of the drum. The sanctuary is one kilometre from the centre of Castelleone. The parish church of Saints James and Philip is also a 16th-century work by Agostino Fondulo.

River landscape and nature

The Bosco didattico was established in 1987 as a field station for applied ecology and a centre for natural history studies. Another aspect of the landscape can be seen in the Parco della Valle del Serio Morto: it extends for about 4 km along the Serio Morto drainage canal. The old river loops that remain in the park are home to marsh and riverside vegetation.

Circular route and antiques market

Municipal circular route 1 is 5 km long, runs entirely on a paved surface and takes 1 hour on foot or 20 minutes by bicycle. Information about the surface and duration makes it easier to plan whether to explore the circular route on foot or by bicycle.

An antiques market is also held in Castelleone’s historic centre on the second Sunday of every month.

More destinations for planning your trip

Vailate, Cansero, Stagno Lombardo, Casalmaggiore, Crema, Bordolano, Costa Santʼ Abramo, Agnadello

For the higher-level travel overview: Cremona.