• Cycle Tourism

From Cremona to Casalmaggiore

Dancing on the bends of the Po. Amidst rows of willows, poplars and farmhouses

Along the route of an extraordinary cycle path that in future will lead to the sea.

In Cremona, the city of good living from where our route departs, it is a pleasure to be awakened by the sound of bells. After a hearty breakfast in the city’s delicious pastry shops, with the aroma of spruce, maple, poplar and mahogany wafting from the lute makers’ workshops, we say farewell to Piazza del Comune, the Duomo, the Baptistery and the bell tower of Torrazzo and pedal to the south-east at a relaxed pace along the cycle route of Golena del Po.

The excitement is high. This is a fragment of a much wider territory involved in the VenTo project, the cycling and pedestrian path, with asphalt road bed or smooth surface, that will connect Venice to Turin, along the Po through Lombardy: a route of 679 kilometres amidst quarries, small orchards, rows of poplars and wooded scrubland along the line of latitude 45° North, still in the planning stage. To date, the stretch that goes from Cremona to the east along the main left bank of the Po is mixed, but can already be cycled on. The river acts as guide, appearing and disappearing, hiding behind a curtain of poplars and the marsh flora: it plays hide and seek among the ditches that conceal its ancient bed with the accumulation of glacial detritus.

The first farmhouse encountered, with the typical rural courtyard architecture, proclaims entry into the Parco del Po and Morbasco, with wooded scrubland and the picturesque river beaches of Luna, where the route is slightly livelier, also suitable for mountain bikes. In this part of the cycle route, it is the names of the place that suggest the characteristics of the territory: the village of Gerre de’ Capriolio, “gravel” in dialect, recalls the presence of small dirt roads.

The river continues to snake along: it comes close and moves further away, a definitive course taken only in the 16th century when it shifted repeatedly to the north. Sometimes, taverns are found where once there was a “passage”, a ferry or a bridge to cross to the other shore.

In other places, we can let ourselves be transported by the sound of the bells of the little country churches. This happens at Solarolo Monasterolo and Motta Baluffi, where all the fish species of the Po are gathered in the sixty or so tanks of an aquarium in the middle of the countryside, a few hundred metres from the banks.

The ride runs along. The raised bank gives a good view of the plain, a sort of timid wall where sometimes the purplish-blue head of an orchidea purpurea can be seen. At Gussola, on the bend of a meander among islands and whitish shores, is the Oasi Lipu of Lancone, a protected reed-bed habitat with marsh and migratory birds. The willows, poplars and alders standing in strict geometry are frequented by pigeons and the greater spotted woodpecker.

Near Casalmaggiore, at a broad bend, the river Po comes close to the residential area. We could stop here, on the “listone”, the paved area of Piazza Garibaldi and the town hall in neo-Gothic style.

From the Suzzara bank, the cycle route continues on the right bank of the Po, along riverside streets with poplars and expanses of land for cultivation. In the Mantua stretch, close to the estuary, the great river flows at 5 metres above the level of the fields, held back only by the grassy sloped banks. The witty old country folk remark that the fish fly higher that the marsh birds in these fields. And we are ideally placed on our bikes astride the two worlds. In this land without shade.

Not a single kilometre ahead is along a protected cycle track. So our safety as well as the river’s will be guaranteed by the banks. In this meandering fluvial geography, it will be the rural courtyards, farms and the beloved places that once belonged to the lords of Mantua, the Gonzaga, and the agricultural settlements that will provide reliable points of orientation.

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One day route
Difficulty:
easy
Length: 56 km
Elevation profile: 50 m
Roads: 80% paved; 20% dirt roads
Type of bike: touring and mountain bikes
When: from March to July
and from September to October
Mood: fluvial

Take me here: From Cremona to Casalmaggiore

Places

Piazza del Comune

  • Art & Culture
Piazza del Comune
6 mt

Palazzo del Comune

The thirteenth-century "Palazzo del Comune", the Town Hall, is opposite the Cathedral
  • Art & Culture
Palazzo del Comune
14 mt

Piazza del Comune

The heart of the medioeval city, one of the most charming squares in Italy
  • Art & Culture
Piazza del Comune
14 mt

Cripta di Sant'Omobono

  • Art & Culture
Cripta di Sant'Omobono
32 mt

Torrazzo and Vertical Museum

The symbol of the town and the museum dedicated to time-measuring
  • Art & Culture
Torrazzo and Vertical Museum
37 mt

Duomo of Cremona

The cathedral of Cremona, built in the 12th century and dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, is located in Cremona's government centre
  • Art & Culture
Cattedrale di Cremona @inlombardia
47 mt

Roman Road

  • Art & Culture
Roman Road
64 mt

Museo Diocesano

An amazing place of Art and Faith!
  • Art & Culture
Museo Diocesano
73 mt

Parco al Po

The Po Park creates a filter between the city and the naturalistic area of ​​the Po river and its banks.
  • Parks
Parco al Po
172 mt

Monastery of Santa Chiara

  • Art & Culture
Monastery of Santa Chiara
172 mt

Piazza S.A.M. Zaccaria

  • Art & Culture
Piazza S.A.M. Zaccaria
172 mt

Cremona

Cremona è il capoluogo della provincia.
  • Art & Culture
Cremona
172 mt

Violin Craftmanship Cremona

  • Unesco Sites
Botteghe liuteria, Cremona
178 mt

Galleria XXV Aprile

  • Art & Culture
Galleria XXV Aprile
223 mt

Pietra tombale di A. Stradivari

  • Art & Culture
Pietra tombale di A. Stradivari
250 mt

Teatro Filodrammatici

Uno dei primi teatri allestiti in città. Ancora oggi in uso come spazio teatrale e come cinema.
  • Art & Culture
Teatro Filodrammatici
258 mt

Palazzo Mina Bolzesi

  • Art & Culture
Palazzo Mina Bolzesi
258 mt

Museo del Violino

Da Stradivari a oggi. Il Museo del Violino custodisce 5 secoli di storia della liuteria. E un avveniristico teatro
  • Art & Culture
Museo del Violino
279 mt

Palazzo Grasselli

  • Art & Culture
Palazzo Grasselli
281 mt

Church of St. Mary Magdalene

  • Art & Culture
Church of St. Mary Magdalene
332 mt

Events

Festival della Mostarda 10

Centro storico
Cremona
04/10/2024 - 17/11/2024
  • Food & Wine
Festival della Mostarda 10
166 mt

Stradivari Festival 2024

Auditorium G. Arvedi - Museo del Violino
Piazza Marconi, 5, Cremona
05/10/2024 - 18/12/2024
  • Musica e spettacolo
Stradivari Festival 2024
277 mt

Stradivari MemorialDay

Auditorium G. Arvedi - Museo del Violino
Piazza Marconi, 5, Cremona
18/12/2024
  • Musica e spettacolo
Stradivari MemorialDay
277 mt

Gospel at the Auditorium

Auditorium G. Arvedi - Museo del Violino
Piazza Marconi, 5, Cremona
20/12/2024
  • Musica e spettacolo
Gospel at the Auditorium
277 mt

THE SOUND OF STRADIVARI

Auditorium G. Arvedi - Museo del Violino
Piazza Marconi, 5, Cremona
01/01/2024 - 31/12/2024
  • Musica e spettacolo
THE SOUND OF STRADIVARI
277 mt

Opera Season 2024/25

Teatro A. Ponchielli
Corso V.Emanuele II, 52, Cremona
04/10/2024 - 02/02/2025
  • Musica e spettacolo
Opera Season 2024/25
427 mt

A new life for Stradivari’s house

Casa Stradivari
Corso Garibaldi, 57
02/01/2024 - 31/12/2024
  • Art & Culture
A new life for Stradivari’s house
613 mt

Where to sleep

HOTEL DUOMO

Cremona
HOTEL DUOMO
57 mt

LA VISTA

Cremona
LA VISTA
69 mt

LA VISTA 1

Cremona
LA VISTA 1
70 mt

RESIDENZA SOLFERINO 1

Cremona
RESIDENZA SOLFERINO 1
104 mt

RESIDENZA SOLFERINO 2

Cremona
RESIDENZA SOLFERINO 2
104 mt

RESIDENZA SOLFERINO 3

Cremona
RESIDENZA SOLFERINO 3
104 mt

HOTEL ASTORIA

Cremona
HOTEL ASTORIA
130 mt

HOTEL IMPERO

Cremona
HOTEL IMPERO
139 mt

CIVICO 2 - OPERETTA MARINA

Cremona
CIVICO 2 - OPERETTA MARINA
162 mt

APPARTAMENTO STONE VIOLIN

Cremona
APPARTAMENTO STONE VIOLIN
162 mt
S

DELLE ARTI DESIGN HOTEL

Cremona
DELLE ARTI DESIGN HOTEL
188 mt

NEL CUORE DI CREMONA

Cremona
NEL CUORE DI CREMONA
216 mt

FIGLIE DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESU'

Cremona
FIGLIE DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESU'
301 mt

IL CORTILE DEGLI ARCHI

Cremona
IL CORTILE DEGLI ARCHI
322 mt

GARDEN VITTORIA

Cremona
GARDEN VITTORIA
329 mt

MY HOUSE APARTMENTS

Cremona
MY HOUSE APARTMENTS
340 mt

B&B IL VIOLINO

Cremona
B&B IL VIOLINO
376 mt

TENDER

Cremona
TENDER
390 mt

B&B MONTEVERDI

Cremona
B&B MONTEVERDI
404 mt

CASA DI NOSTRA SIGNORA

Cremona
CASA DI NOSTRA SIGNORA
441 mt