Discover Mortara: Church Art, the Via Francigena and the Sagra del Salame d’Oca

Mortara between art, faith and festival traditions

Mortara combines religious architecture and art with a firmly established culinary tradition and a historic hiking route. If you would like to discover Italy not only through its major centres, but also through distinctive places with their own cultural identity, Mortara offers several clearly differentiated points of interest: churches, abbeys, religious art and an annual festival shape the selection.

An event with a local character

The Sagra del Salame d’Oca di Mortara takes place every year on the last Sunday in September. It includes a historic festival procession and a Palio between the Contrade of Mortara. The fixed date gives a trip in September a special cultural connection and combines local festival tradition with a clearly defined occasion.

Churches and works of art

The Biblioteca Civica “F. Pezza” organises guided visits in Mortara and other places in the nearby area. If you would like to get to know the town beyond individual buildings, this is one of the specific ways to explore culture in Mortara and its immediate surroundings.

The Museo della Collegiata Basilica di San Lorenzo e S. Dionigi uses the Chiesa di San Lorenzo as a museum space. The Basilica di San Lorenzo also contains the Polittico di San Giuseppe, a wooden nativity scene with 80 relief figures from the 15th century by Lorenzo da Mortara.

The Abbazia di Sant'Albino retains a church with 15th-century frescoes, an elegant Renaissance portico, a Romanesque-Gothic bell tower and the remains of the cloister. It is precisely the combination of different architectural elements that makes the site interesting for visitors who wish to understand religious history through architectural forms and surviving features.

The Abbazia di Santa Croce was rebuilt in 1596 to a design by Pellegrino Tibaldi. The Abbazia di Santa Croce also houses a relic of the footprint of the Redeemer made of Carrara marble. The Santuario S. Maria del Campo contains an altarpiece with a Madonna del Latte, painted around 1514 by Tommasino da Mortara.

Via Francigena and getting there

Mortara is an important stage on the historic Via Francigena hiking route. This connection is particularly appealing to travellers who would like to combine their stay with a historic pilgrimage route. Mortara railway station is also relevant for getting there: it is served by the Alessandria–Milano railway line.

Choose accommodation based on your travel interests

When choosing a hotel in Mortara, you can use your travel plans as a guide: church art and abbey history offer different focal points from the historic pilgrimage route or the Sagra’s fixed September date. The Alessandria–Milano railway line is also one of the factual considerations you can take into account when choosing your location.

Discover more destinations

For further travel planning, you can also explore Voghera, Santa Maria Della Versa, Rosasco, Vigevano, Ceranova, Vidigulfo, Cervesina and Val di Nizza.

For the higher-level travel overview: Pavia.