14. Pavia to Stradella

610

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Pavia is the crossroads of many pilgrimage routes. The most famous is the Francigena which links Canterbury to Rome, which offers for this part of the route the opportunity to share a part of the way with other pilgrims.

Last moment in the Po plain where the monotony of a flat relief is broken by this great river that irrigates all of northern Italy. To the south, the foothills of the Apennines appear with Stradella at the foot of these mountains.

14 points of interest

Duomo
Cultural
Cathedral of Pavia
The construction of the cathedral began in 1488 on the site of two former Romanesque cathedrals, Santo Stefano and Santa Maria del Popolo. The original project, with a nave and two wings flanked by semi-circular niches and a central dome, is influenced by Bramante. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have contributed to the project. A 78 m high belfry (Torre Civica) originally flanked the cathedral. Mentioned since 1330 and expanded in 1583, it collapsed on March 17, 1989. His remains are still visible on the left of the cathedral.
Basilica San Teodoro
St Columban
Basilica of San Teodoro
The basilica was built on an ancient early medieval church dedicated to Saint Agnes, built in the Lombard period in the mid-eighth century, led by the monks of San Colomban de Bobbio. After the transfer of the relics, the basilica took the name of St. Theodore. The church stands on a natural terrace sloping towards Ticino in an area of the city once inhabited by fishermen, boatmen and traders who used to operate along the river. It is likely that business associations in these trades played a decisive role in the construction of the church dedicated to the saint they venerated as patron saint and who was Bishop of Pavia in the mid-eighth century, during the transition from the Lombard to the Carolingian regime. The church was remodelled in 1510 and 1692-1693. Finally, it was restored to its original form with the restorations of 1887 and 1904-1909.
Basilica San Michele Maggiore
Cultural
Basilica of St. Michael Major
The first religious building built on the site is the chapel of the Lombard palace (part of which remains in the form of the base of the nail of the current basilica). A first church dedicated to the Archangel Michael was built on its site, but it was destroyed by a fire in 1004. The current construction began at the end of the 11th century (crypt, choir and transept) and was completed in 1155. The aisles of the nave, originally with coarse-edged vaults, were replaced in 1489 by four rectangular vaults. The basilica was the site of many historical events, such as the coronations of Louis III (900) and Frederic Barbarossa (1155). The Basilica of San Michele Maggiore (St. Michael Major) is one of the best examples of Lombard Romanesque style.
Ex chiesa San Colombano
St Columban
Former church of San Colombano Maggiore
The old church of San Colombano Maggiore was built in the first half of the 13th century. Suppressed in 1565, it was then used as a warehouse but retains a large part of its central nave and left divided by pillars. The façade is practically intact and very original, with new elements compared to the Romanesque churches of Pavia. Now used as a private residence, it can only be visited from the outside.
Chiesa SS Primo e Feliciano
Cultural
Church of Saints Primo and Feliciano
The church of Saints Primo and Feliciano was built in the second half of the 12th century. Originally, it was presided over by a collegiate church of canons who, in 1354, entered the Congregation of the Servants of Mary. The Romanesque church had three naves, but in the 15th century, another nave was added to the right nave. However, in the second half of the 16th century, the church underwent a radical restructuring. The interior was reduced to a single large nave and the tiburium and apse romanes were demolished. However, the original 12th century facade has remained unchanged. In one of the chapels is preserved an important triptych of Agostino da Vaprio from 1498 representing the Virgin flanked by Blessed Bertoni and Saint John the Baptist.
Chiesa San Luco
Cultural
Church of San Luca
San Luca was built at the end of the 16th century according to the rules of the Council of Trent: a rectangular plan with a large apse, which identifies the single nave hall as the best way to ensure maximum visibility at the altar and thus promote a sense of unity for the faithful during worship. The wide and bright nave is covered by a barrel vault. The church is decorated with a dense decoration. In very poor condition, the church was closed to worship until 2000, when it was restored and reopened.
Santuario Santa Maria delle Grazie
Cultural
Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie
Located outside Pavia on the Via Francigena, the church, dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie, was built in the 17th century on an oratory dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Near the church was built a Carmelite convent. In 1799, the convent was abolished and the church was first transformed into a stable and then into a saltpeter factory. The Bishop of Pavia Luigi Tosi bought the building, which was to be demolished, and reopened the church for worship in 1824. In April 1995, Pope John Paul II elevated it to the rank of a minor basilica. Inside the church are paintings and frescoes by Fiammenghini, Montalto and Giulio Cesare Procaccini, while the bell tower was completed in the mid-18th century.
Chiesa San Pietro Apostolo
St Columban
Church of St. Peter the Apostle
The church and monastery of San Pietro in Verzolo were built, perhaps on an earlier building from the Lombard period. The monastery was managed by the monks of St. Colomban, founder of an abbey in Bobbio in 614 which was then a large and rich royal and imperial monastery fiefdom, in the 10th century as a Benedictine abbey. In July 929, during a transfer from Bobbio to Pavia, the relics of Saint Columbus were temporarily placed in the church of Saint Peter before being transported to the Basilica of Saint Michele Maggiore. In 1486, the Benedictines were replaced by the Cistercians of Chiaravalle, until 1798, when the monastery was abolished, while the church survived as a parish. Much of the church structure and adjacent buildings, such as the small cloister, are structured on the 11th century walls, made of many Roman bricks and pebbles recovered from the river. The facade was rebuilt in the second half of the 16th century, while the interior of the church was modified in the first half of the 18th century. Inside, above the altar (made in 1708) is a large painting by Giovanni Battista Sassi dated 1713 depicting Saint Bernard on his knees at the feet of the Virgin Mary.
Chiesa San Lazzaro
Cultural
Church of San Lazzaro
The original church was built in 1157 with the nearby hospital, which is one of the oldest leper colony in Italy. The current building dates from the early 13th century and, despite its small size, represents the purest example of the Lombard Romanesque style, which has reached its highest degree of perfection here. The use of terracotta, with its refined style, reveals an extreme sensitivity and mastery that precedes the subsequent architectural cycle of the great 14th century churches. The interior, recently restored, preserves in the apse vast traces of Romanesque frescoes of great interest. The 15th century hospital building attached to the church is also interesting.
Chiesa San Giacomo
Cultural
Church San Giacomo della Cerata
The small Romanesque chapel of San Giacomo della Cerreta preserves inside a precious collection of 15th century frescos. The beauty of this church and its original pictorial flowering are clues to the discovery of the meaning and value that this building once had, whose construction, in its current form, dates back to the first half of the 15th century. The oratory was a meeting point for people from different countries, united by a common devotion to Santiago and the Virgin Mary, a place of prayer, welcome and rest during the fatigue of the journey, solidarity and coexistence. Pavia and its countryside were indeed an almost obligatory point of passage for pilgrims who, according to the practice of faith that goes back to the 5th century, went to Galicia to visit the tomb of the apostle James, Rome or the Holy Land.
Castello
Historical
Castel of Belgioioso
The Castel of Belgioioso is a villa founded by Galeazzo Visconti around 1360, which is currently living thanks to the events organised by the company that resides there.
Chiesa Beata Vergine Maria
Cultural
Church of the Blessed Virgine Maria Assunta
Beautiful baroque church.
Chiesa SS Nabore e Felice
Cultural
Church of Saints Nabor and Felix
The present church dates from 1491 and the crypt from 1666. The old church mentioned in the texts in 1330 was already a chapel dedicated to Saints Nabor and Felix.
Torre civica
Historical
Civic tower
The civic tower, the only remnant of the castle from the late Middle Ages 1390, suffered extensive damage during the Napoleonic period and was destroyed in 1845.

Description

On the cathedral square, head south taking the pedestrian alley via dei Liguri:

Turn left into the first street (via Gerolamo Cardano) and cross the Corso Strada Nuova, a shopping street that leads to the covered bridge over the Ticino. Continue in the same direction (Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi) until its end marked by a roundabout with a modern statue. Continuing in the same direction (viale Partigiani), the road crosses a canal, changes its name (viale Montegrappa) after a right turn and gradually exits the city.
After the bridge, turn right on via Francana (Francigena signposting) to its end in the countryside and continue on the dirt road through the fields. Back in the inhabited area, observe the signs of the Francigena (red and white mark) which follows via Pietro Fondrini (rising street), via Montebolone (right) and via Grumello (right) before returning to nature. Continue on the bicycle / pedestrian track (signposting Francigena and via degli Abati: Abbots' way which also goes to Bobbio): it passes by a horse riding centre, follows the SS617, crosses the hamlets of Scarpone and Albertario before reaching a roundabout with the SS617.
Take the opposite road towards San Leonardo (SP13), cross the village and continue until the crossroads towards San Giacomo: follow the Francigena signs on the right and go to Belgioioso (via Felice Cavallotti).
Turn right into via Nenni (Francigena). At the end, turn right onto the SP9 (Francigena), pass the hamlet of Torre Negri but leave the Francigena at one kilometre which goes to the left (sign).
Continue on SP9 to the village of Spessa (via Guglielmo Marconi). In the centre, turn right (piazza Scuri) then left (via Roma). At the end of the village, turn left to join the circulating SP199 and cross the bridge on the right side by a narrow pedestrian crossing. Continue until the roundabout at the end of the bridge.
Follow the direction of Stradella and then the first track on the right to reach the Po river bank (Ciclovia del Po). Go up this bank to the hamlet of San Pietro. Find the SP200 to cross from Torrente Versa and enter the village of Portalbera. Before the church, turn left into Via De Amicis. At the roundabout, follow the second street on the left (via Liberta) which runs along the village. Exit again on the SP200 until the first junction on the left. Turn into this dirt road (via Levata) which avoids the busy road and joins Stradella after passing under the highway and crossing a railway track.
At the end, turn right (viale Rimembranze), cross via Nazionale and continue along Via Antonio Gramsci, then Civardi after a staircase. At the end, turn left into via Baldrighi and, after a staircase, right into via Cavour to reach the destination.

Departure : Cathedral of Pavia, Piazza del Duomo, 27000 Pavia
Arrival : Church of Santi Nabore e Felice, piazza Vittorio Veneto 30, 27049 Stradella
Towns crossed : Lombardia