Pavia and the Certosa

Somewhat like a garment you buy that needs no shortening or taking in, Pavia ‘fits well’. A university partner in over 300 international exchange programmes makes it a young and dynamic place, while artistic and architectural gems attest to its antiquity. A glorious past, a troubled history and a bond with traditions and rituals that has survived down the ages. Despite its openness to the outside world, despite the fact that most of the faces are wrinkle-free and there is a packed line-up of events, Pavia is still true to itself and retains a fair amount of country spirit that is reflected in the good quality of life and the culture of good living. A perfect mix of atmospheres.

There are plenty of things to do. Stroll along the glittering Corso Cavour and Strada Nuova, go to Piazza della Vittoria and sit at a table in one of the many bars that enliven it. Wander along the cobbled streets that lead from the Duomo towards the Ticino. It is here that you can see the small twelfth-century basilica of San Teodoro with its red-brick façade. Visit the Musei Civici in the Castello Visconteo and the Basilica di San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro. Still bearing witness to the remote past of this town are the towers built by noble families who erected them to show off their prestige rather than for defensive purposes. There used to be more or less a hundred of them; thirty-two remain. They are difficult to find, because many are incorporated into the buildings next to which they were built, while others reduced to ruins. Five of them still stand out. In Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, behind the University headquarters, there is the Maino one, while near the Town Hall there is the Belcreda and the San Dalmazio.

A panoramic photo and a stroll beneath the iconic Ponte Coperto shall not be missed: built in 1351 over a pre-existing Romanesque bridge, remodelled, bombed in 1944 and rebuilt in 1951, in spring or summer, the covered bridge allows for a walk along the Ticino river and a refreshing stop on its left bank. Finally, in the dark, there is the spectacle offered by the Ponte della Libertà: artist Marco Lodola has installed blue, yellow and fuchsia neon lights on it.

But there is more, because 10 km out of town there is one of the most important buildings of the Renaissance: the Certosa.