Cortemaggiore is not far from the Fiorenzuola d’Arda exit along the road leading to Cremona.
A village built in the Renaissance, according to the canons of the "ideal city", designed by Arch. Maffeo Vegio da Como, with the streets perpendicular to each other and centered on the 'cardo' and 'decumano' of the ancient Roman camp.
To visit, in the center of the village, the majestic Collegiate church dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie, with the Pallavicino Mausoleum, the Franciscan church decorated by Pordenone and the Oratory of San Giuseppe. However, all the other monuments and buildings in the historic center deserve an overall view, albeit from the outside - first of all the Pallavicino Palace - which, although private, make Cortemaggiore a suggestive example of a new Renaissance city.
Pissarei e fasò, typical bread gnocchetti with bean sauce.
Not to miss is the Antiques fair and things of the past, every first Sunday of the month.
Traditional meeting point is the Fiera di San Giuseppe, every year on the weekend closest to the date of the patron saint (19 March).
Nearby, the village of Chiavenna Landi, with its 16th century parish church, inside which a beautiful Renaissance portrait of the Virgin Mary is displayed. Another remarkable building is the 13th century keep, today surrounded by more modern buildings. Its massive structure is characterised by typical ghibelline battlements.
