In the footsteps of pilgrims: a spiritual journey to Piacenza

We start from the church that stands at the place where the ancient Roman roads Emilia and Postumia meet and diverge eastwards.

The Basilica of San Savino, founded in the 5th century by the Bishop of Piacenza and rebuilt in the 10th, is a treasure chest of medieval art, a real journey through time.

Must-see

• Baroque entrance to the Merluzzo gardens that leaves you unable to imagine the interior
• Floor mosaics with representations of sea waves and fish
• Crypt with medieval decorations of monsters and fantastic figures with zodiac signs paired with the characteristic crafts of each time of year.
• Historiated capitals that allow us to see the culture of medieval bestiaries and herbaria. Between volutes and plant elements there are wolves, snakes, and dragons that represent vices to be avoided and virtues to be pursued.

Tips

Step up to the altar to admire the floor mosaic that deals with the theme of time in a more complex way (ask for help from the church staff).

Leaving the church of San Savino, you cross the gardens with the peculiar name “Cod.” Apparently they are named after the triangular shape that recalls the fish. Climb the stairs and proceed along Via Roma. This street is the city section of the Via Emilia, which for a long time was a crucial transit artery within the city, even for pilgrims.

Along the street there are aristocratic palaces, ancient convents and monasteries, and, near the center, an open space overlooked by a small church that is now closed. 
It is San Martino in foro. Its name recalls the fact that this area was probably the intersection of the cardo and decumanus maximus, the space dedicated to the forum - the main square - in Roman times. 

Curiously, another place of worship overlooks the area: that’s why Piacenza is known as the city of a hundred churches!

Continuing along the east-west direction, Via Roma becomes Via Borghetto. It takes only a few minutes walking down this street to reach the facade of the Former Carmine Church. 
Today this impressive building is accessible during weekdays (Monday-Friday, except on special occasions) with entrance from the apsidal area. 

The recently restored interior is now home to Laboratorio Aperto Piacenza, a coworking space that also hosts events. In the left aisle there are three touch screens that allow visitors to discover the history of this place. They tell about the foundation of the monastery by Carmelites along the pilgrimage route to offer hospitality to travelers, as well as details about decorations, frescoes and findings made during the restoration works. 

The space can be accessed for free and it is open all day long: a good alternative where you can spend lunchtime while other places of interest are usually closed.

In this regard, after much walking and visiting, it is time to eat something. Being in the historic center, you can choose from typical restaurants, osterias and trattorias, where you can taste traditional dishes. The pilgrims, back in the Middle Ages, tasted pissarei e fasò. At that time, the breadcrumb and flour dumplings were probably served in broth, with beans and seasoned with animal fats, particularly pork. Today they are found in different versions, often made with tomato sauce.

The afternoon begins with a visit to San Sisto, a former monastery located in the northern part of the city near Piacenza's ducal palace, Palazzo Farnese. 

Today's building dates back to the Renaissance, when it underwent a complete restoration, but it has a much older origin. It was Empress Angilberga who founded it in 874 A.D. She herself endowed it with relics, which at that time represented wealth and a source of attraction for visitors and pilgrims. The monastery, first a convent/nunnery and then passed to the Benedictines, always had great importance and power, having the privilege of controlling and managing the waters of the river Po.

Must-see

• Copy of Raphael's Sistine Madonna, originally painted for this church in Piacenza on commission from Pope Julius II, later sold to the Elector of Saxony and now displayed in Dresden.
• Funeral monument to Margareth of Austria, duchess of Parma and Piacenza, who wanted to be buried here
• Painting dedicated to St. Barbara, whose relics were donated to the church by Angilberga.
• Wooden altar choir, a real jewel of wooden inlays.

Curiosity

The presence at the entrance of two chapels and a dome creates a kind of transept, which is usually located near the altar. Apparently Tramello was inspired by Bramante's design for Santa Maria presso San Satiro in Milan.

Continuing from the Church of San Sisto, we come to St. Euphemia Street, named after the church of the same name, one of the city's medieval treasures.
Probably founded before the year 1000, St. Euphemia gained importance after the 12th century, partly as a result of the discovery of the remains of the martyr to whom it is dedicated.
The most radical changes date back to the seventeenth century, when the choir and a new floor were built, and from the nineteenth century, until the last restorations of the portico that took place in recent years.
Open only for celebrations and on Saturdays, depending on the availability of volunteers, it is still interesting to take a tour outside.

Must-see

Exterior portico with historiated capitals with allegorical and symbolic medieval elements.

Curiosity

Allegorical figures include a mermaid, a symbol of lust, often used as a warning to the faithful.

The afternoon walk continues along St. Euphemia Street and then turns into Campagna Street. Here stands the Church of St. Sepulchre dating back to 1055, a witness to the passage of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, a religious order established to protect pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.

Must-see

• Cross of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, emblem of the religious order.
• Romanesque architecture transformed by the Piacenza architect Alessio Tramello in the 1500s into a Renaissance building with an imposing facade with a raised entrance.

Curiosity

The church is currently granted to the Orthodox community and is open only on Sundays.

From here, moving into the small square behind, you reach the Church of St. Nazzaro and Celsus, now deconsecrated and home to a private art gallery. This place has a special historical value: here Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, a key figure in international politics in the 18th century as a promoter of the marriage agreements between Elisabetta Farnese and Philip V of Spain, was baptized.

Leaving the church and heading back toward the center, one passes by the former Church of St. Matthew, now converted into a theater. Above the main entrance you can still see a copy of the lintel with the lamb, the original of which is kept in the Civic Museums of Palazzo Farnese.
The end of the day has arrived! It’s time for dinner, enjoying a glass of wine (Piacenza has 17 different DOCs wines!), and rest, perhaps in a hostel like real pilgrims.

The second day of the itinerary begins at a place that, in the Middle Ages, welcomed pilgrims arriving in Piacenza: the Basilic of Santa Maria di Campagna.
The space in front of the church played a key historical role: in 1095, Pope Urban II announced the First Crusade here, which was made official shortly afterwards in Clermont-Ferrand. Since then, this area has been known as the Square of the Crusades.

The church, on the edge of town in medieval times, is now a place rich in history and art. 
On the outside, the basilica has typically Renaissance harmonious forms, while inside it holds a veritable treasure of masterpieces.
Most of the frescoes were painted in the first half of the 16th century by Giovan Antonio de Sacchis, known as Pordenone. His style is characterized by vivid hues, monumental figures and bold perspectives, so much that his contemporaries called them “terrible.”

Must-see

• The dome frescoed by Pordenone, with powerful figures and dynamic perspectives
• The left side chapels and the painting at the entrance, decorated by the same artist
• Paintings along the interior cornice, the work of numerous Emilian masters between the 16th and 18th centuries
• The Crucifixion by the Flemish Van Grenaert, an example of the Nordic school in Piacenza
• The statue of Ranuccio Farnese, made by Francesco Mochi with “scagliola” (marble powder), evidence of the basilica's importance to the ducal family.

A sacred place that spans the ages:

• The present basilica dates back to the 16th century, but the site has much older roots.
• Beneath the church there are the remains of a burial ground, where in 303 AD a number of christians were martyred during Diocletian's persecutions.
• In this area once stood the Church of the Campagnola, of which there are records as early as around the year 1000, while another building was dedicated to Santa Vittoria, a martyr from Piacenza, who is now commemorated in one of the chapels after the church was given to the friars in 1565.

Curiosities

The frescoes of the dome can be admired up close thanks to a special tour route. After a climb of 100 steps, you will be able to look at them just a few meters away.

After leaving the Basilica of Santa Maria di Campagna, the itinerary continues to the historic center of Piacenza, along the ancient Strà Levata, now Via Taverna. Strolling among historic buildings and alleys named after saints, we reach Piazza Borgo, a place that tells of the city's tradition of welcoming pilgrims.

Here is the Church of Santa Brigida, a building that played a key role for wayfarers transiting along the Via Francigena and heading to Bobbio, a monastic center founded by St. Columbanus, an Irish monk of great influence in Europe during the Middle Ages.

What makes Saint Bridget special?

• It was of great importance to pilgrims around the year 1000, because it had a “Hospitale per Nationes” or reception facility dedicated to foreign pilgrims. Irish pilgrims in particular were housed here, as they found staff able to communicate in their language and not only in Latin.
• The saint to whom it is dedicated, Bridget of Ireland, is one of the most revered figures in the Celtic world and her connection with Piacenza reinforces the link with the pilgrimage to Bobbio, where the Irish monk Columbanus, who had departed from Bangor, had founded a monastery in 615 AD.

Curiosity

Next to the church stands the Stucchi Tower, one of the ancient medieval tower-houses still visible in the city. At one time, these towers were fortified dwellings and symbols of power of noble families. Today the tower houses a historic stationery store.

Taking Corso Garibaldi, one reaches the historic center proper. Among palaces and facades of ancient churches, one arrives at a small clearing dominated by the facade of the church of Sant'Ilario, once a place of hospitality for pilgrims traveling along the Via Francigena.

The church, now used as an auditorium and exhibition center, bears witness to a past when hospitality was an essential component of the pilgrimage. Wayfarers arriving in Piacenza found shelter, assistance and the opportunity to rest before continuing on their journey here. A reminder of early use is the carved lintel with the scene of the Incredulity of St. Thomas, a rare example of local medieval sculpture.

Curiosities

Today, as then, the neighborhood around St. Hilary's is a perfect place for a gastronomic break with its clubs, bars and restaurants.
Medieval pilgrims found refreshment with local bread and cured meats, a tradition that survives in the typical sandwiches with PDO cold cuts from Piacenza, such as salami, coppa or pancetta.

Continuing along Corso Garibaldi, or Via Sant'Antonino, we reach one of Piacenza's most important churches: the Basilica of Sant'Antonino, dedicated to the city's patron saint. This imposing sacred building was a key landmark for medieval pilgrims traveling along the Via Francigena.
Originally built outside the city walls, the basilica quickly became a spiritual and welcoming center for wayfarers. Its special location and its major portal, oriented precisely toward the Via Francigena, testify to its connection to pilgrimage.

Must-see

• The Portico of Paradise, a rare example of medieval architecture related to the reception of pilgrims.
• The octagonal bell tower, among the oldest in Italy, a symbol of the basilica.
• The sculptures of Adam and Eve on the portal, an example of Romanesque sculpture.
• The detached frescoes repositioned at the entrance, including works of the Lombard school.
• The altar with the relics of St. Antoninus, a place of worship and devotion.

Tips

Visit the cloister, accessible from the right aisle: a perfect peaceful spot for a break in the heart of the city.

Curiosities

• The Basilica of Sant'Antonino also played a crucial role in Italian political history. In fact, the preliminary meetings for the Peace of Constance, the agreement that ended the clash between the Lombard Communes and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1183, were held here.
• Near the Basilica you will find Vicolo San Martino. Although no building resembling a church can be seen in the vicinity, a house of worship once stood here as well, perhaps specifically to welcome wayfarers walking along the Via Francigena.

Deviating from the Francigena and entering the heart of the city, we come to the last stop on the route: the Cathedral of Piacenza dedicated to the Virgin Assumption and Santa Giustina of Antioch.
An episcopal see from 855 A.D. to the present day, it is a must-visit place.

The suggestion here is to enjoy not only the traditional exterior and interior visit of the church, with its medieval reliefs and 17th-century paintings, but also to have a different experience, climbing up to the dome to observe the frescoes and the city from above.
From this privileged vantage point, it will be easy to spot the many places of worship previously visited, to understand the geography of the city and even to imagine the vibrancy of its streets when pilgrims passed through by the hundreds.

The experience offers the chance to walk through rooms normally closed to the public and reserved for Cathedral maintenance: narrow staircases, women's galleries, side views of the high altar. Above all, however, the ascent to the dome makes possible a close-up view of the prophets, sibyls and stories of the Virgin frescoed by Guercino and Morazzone in the 1620s.

With the experience over, it is time to return home to plan a new journey. Religious paths to travel in Piacenza, in addition to the Via Francigena, are numerous. Among the most structured we recommend: the Way of the Abbots and the Way of St. Columba.