Discover Piacenza: Piazza, Museums and Culture
Accommodation in Piacenza
Piacenza between Piazza and Province
Piacenza combines distinctive urban spaces with an art and cultural landscape that extends beyond any single building. On Piazza Cavalli stand two bronze equestrian statues of the Farnese dukes. The Municipality of Piacenza commissioned them from Francesco Mochi of Montevarchi. The sculptures define the square and give it a clearly recognisable cultural theme. Those who view Piacenza through its squares therefore begin at a place where urban history and artistic design come together directly.
File:Piacenza - frazione Borghetto - chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore.jpg
Photo: Mattia94raggio via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic Spaces with Practical Orientation
In Palazzo Gotico, the Salone Monumentale can be reached via stairs or a lift. Near the equestrian statues on Piazza Cavalli, there are also metal ramps with handrails and a gentle incline. Visiting Palazzo Gotico and Piazza Cavalli therefore connects indoor and outdoor spaces without limiting the cultural focus of the two sites to a single perspective.
Museums and Scheduled Visiting Opportunities
Palazzo Farnese houses the Civic Museums of Piacenza. At Collegio Alberoni, there is a guided tour of the Collegio and the Galleria Alberoni every Sunday at 4 p.m. Individual visitors can also arrange a one-hour accompanied tour of the Galleria Alberoni by appointment. The Sunday appointment ties the tour to a fixed time, while the one-hour tour is arranged separately.
From Old Paintings to Modern Art
The Galleria Alberoni preserves Botticelli’s Tondo “Madonna adorante il Bambino con San Giovannino”, a work dating from 1483 to 1487 and regarded as the highlight of the collection. The Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery offers a different chronological perspective: it contains more than 700 works by artists from the 18th century to the present day. The Fegato Etrusco is regarded as a rare testimony to religious practices associated with divination. The chronological distance between the Tondo and the Ricci Oddi collection is as clear as the shift to the Fegato Etrusco, whose connection with divination introduces a different form of testimony into the consideration.
Mosaics, Palace Architecture and Landscape
During restoration work at the Basilica di San Savino at the beginning of the 20th century, two polychrome mosaics from the 12th century were uncovered there. Gotico, a palace, is located in the surrounding area of Piacenza. The two examples emphasise different aspects: at San Savino, the uncovered mosaics; at Gotico, the palace architecture.
Between the Po and the Apennines
Piacenza and its province lie between the Po and the Apennines. The landscape is characterised by valleys, rivers, vineyards, as well as numerous castles, towers and bell towers. The landscape adds a regional perspective to the squares, palaces, churches and museums.
More Destinations for Your Planning
If you would like to consider other places for your trip to Italy in addition to Piacenza, you can also view Ferriere, Folignano, San Nazzaro, Borgonovo Valtidone, Alseno, Casa Nuova, Rivergaro and Bolgheri.
For the higher-level travel overview: Piacenza.
