On the west side of the city, along the route of the ancient consular road Postumia near Lombardy, Castel San Giovanni paves the way to Val Tidone.
The town has the name of San Giovanni, to whom the Collegiate Church is dedicated, built on an ancient church from 1130, subsequently enriched with works of art: the fifteenth-century polyptych and the Raphaelesque-inspired altarpiece attributed to Bernardino Luini.
Other sacred buildings to visit are the church of San Rocco, restored by Giulio Ulisse Arata at the beginning of the 20th century, and the Torricella oratory.
A lively town in the early 1900s, Castel San Giovanni has many examples of Liberty architecture in the main streets.
At the eastern entrance to the town, you can find Villa Braghieri, a country house built in the eighteenth century that hosted the Duchess Maria Amalia, the wife of Ferdinando Borbone. The same location now houses the Ethnographic Museum and the Museum of Cardinal Agostino Casaroli.
Alongside the typical Piacenza courses, there are specialties of the river region such as marinated eels, catfish, and fried frogs.
In the center there is a Theater dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi and a cinema.
Near Villa Braghieri there is the municipal swimming pool open the whole year.
In Castel San Giovanni, at the beginning of November, chocolate becomes the star of the Cioccolandia fair.
In spring the town hosts the flower fair Floravilla.
Not far from the town center Villa Caramello hosts sometimes public events or opens its doors to the visitors.
From the town, the villages of Sarmato and Rottofreno are within easy reach, and continuing in a southerly direction is Borgonovo Val Tidone and the vine-growing hills of Ziano Piacentino.
