Crema

Set in an excellent natural background of water resources, Crema is the second city of the province of Cremona and features a historical centre embellished by a history of precious architectural works perfectly preserved.

POPULATION

34.393

DENSITY

996,9 inhabitants/sq. Km

AREA

34,52 sq. km

ELEVATION

79 m a.s.l.

PATRON SAINT

San Pantaleone di Nicomedia

Halfway between Milan and Venice, today the Cremasco territory stands out for its splendid architectural traces of the Renaissance, Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries

Among others, Palazzo Comunale (1525), overlooking Piazza del Duomo, Palazzo Benzoni-Frecavalli (1627), Palazzo Marazzi-Griffoni (1422), Palazzo Vimercati-Sanseverino (1602), Palazzo Foglia (1650) and Palazzo Terni-Bondenti (1711). There are also villas from the Baroque period or later, such as Villa Tensini (1622), Villa Albergoni (17th century) and Villa Martini (XVIII century).
The Duomo of Crema, in Lombard Gothic style, was built between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th.

Worth a visit:
- the Sanctuary of Saint Mary of the Cross (15th century), the seat of legendary and miraculous events;
- the Church of San Bernardino degli Osservanti, built between 1518 and 1534, in memory of a visit of the Saint to the city, which today is also used as an auditorium as well as for church services and worship;
- the Church of Santa Maria della Stella, which houses a famous "Black Madonna";
- the former Convent of San Domenico which today houses the municipal theatre and the Bruno Folcioni Music Institute.

The Museo Civico di Crema e del Cremasco, the Civic Museum near the former convent of Sant'Agostino, collects many archaeological, artistic and ethnographic testimonies. In 2005 a large collection of typewriters was purchased: this is because Crema, in fact, has long been the headquarters of Olivetti. The last section to be established, the river archaeology one, is the most innovative: it even stores the prehistoric pirogues that roamed the water courses in the plain.
The Crema Museum hosts one of the most important collection of logboats (boats made by carving the log of a tree) in Italy. The collection includes 13 pirogues, four exhibited (from the Po, the Oglio and the Adda) and nine others being studied.