Voghera | Medieval Oltrepò Pavese Treasure

 

Voghera, the largest center of the Oltrepò Pavese and third of the province after Pavia and Vigevano, attractive town located on the banks of the Staffora  stream south of the Po river in a territorial area corresponding to the beginning of the extensive Po Valley.

Former village with noble medieval traditions but even before an ancient settlement in the Neolithic and then a strategic center of the Celtic, Ligurian and Roman, it has always been a very active commercial hub in a strategic point where Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria are so close and not far are the Emilian borders.

Surely you will be immediately amazed at the arrival of the immense historical and monumental heritage of Vogherese, a city that has grandly preserved many traces in its municipal terms of that Middle Ages that can still be breathed in its stupendous history, especially linked to the medieval treasures it preserves.

I suggest starting the visit in the central Piazza Duomo. This wonderful urban space consists of the place where the ancient city center was built, dating back to  the tenth century with the Parish Church of San Lorenzo and in 1378 with the construction of the Cathedral - Collegiate Church dedicated to the same Holy Martyr.

This majestic religious building which, although as the date of construction of medieval origin says, was entirely rebuilt in the seventeenth century, an operation due to the terrible collapse of the bell tower, a work that saw the architect Antonio Mario Corbetta as the  protagonist while the current façade was completed in 1875.

 The architectural style of the structure is placed in a neo-Renaissance classification with a rectangular plan divided into three naves with a large dome in the center surmounted by an octagonal lantern supported by four massive pillars and reaching a height of 47.0 meters.

You can visit the beautiful interior that contains the Holy Thorn carried by Jesus on the way to Calvary kept in the reliquary of the Collegiate Treasure for over seven centuries.

You will then be delighted by the view of the extraordinary dome masterfully frescoed by Rodolfo Gambini and Luigi Morgari, of great importance is a huge statue of St. John the Evangelist with a Roman Eagle at the base and the banner of the municipal Voghera as well as the three beautiful nineteenth-century altars developed in correspondence with the three naves.

Continuation reaching Palazzo Beltrami, current headquarters of the Giornale di Voghera and the Salone Millenario, a beautiful building with neoclassical forms modeled in 1854 by order of the lawyer Gaspare Beltrami from whom this structure takes its name, a site that today hosts important meetings and conferences.

On the same square stands Palazzo Gounela , another fine example of neoclassical architecture erected between the years 1844 and 1847 and today the seat of the Voghera municipal bodies.

The building takes its name from a singular character quite famous in the 800s, histrionic and with a strong personality or the Civic Usher Giuseppe Gonnella preserving inside a fresco by Paolo Emilio Morgari which depicts the celebration of Voghera becoming a city. S

In this beautiful trapezoidal square, the city market is celebrated and on three of its sides you can appreciate from different perspectives the beautiful arcades with sinuous arches that increase the charm of this beautiful historic corner of Voghera.

From this square you can move to another square that is Piazza della Liberazione with the shape of a quadrilateral embellished with Italian gardens called "Piazza Castello" for the presence of the Visconti Castle which, as the name conveys, was one of the noble residences of the famous Visconti Dynasty, Dukes of Milan, a majestic brick structure erected between 1335 and 1335.1372 at the behest of Galeazzo II Visconti.

His son Gian Galeazzo, the first Duke of Milan, as was customary at the court of this influential family, after the works ordered by his father, demanded an expansion of this stronghold that has all the canons of the traditional Visconti fortresses, i.e. massive wall thicknesses, considerable height, solidity, concepts fundamentally based on the hermetic defense of the court, sober in decorations and essentially built on the basis of functionality.

Observing from different antennas, the wings of the fortress seen from a distance appear very similar to those of the Sforza Castle in Milan. This ducal stronghold with the fall of the House was then the residence of other nobles such as Beccaria and Dal Verme and in the 19th century transformed into a prison.

Inside, on the eastern side of the extensive courtyard, there is a valuable fresco executed by the talented master from Bergamo Bartolomeo Suardi, better known as Bramantino, depicting the Virgin Mary with Christ Child and muses.

You can walk along the fascinating Via Emilia, a very attractive pedestrian street where there are beautiful buildings built in different periods among which stands out the Teatro Sociale , a building erected between 1842 and 1845 which boasts a splendid neoclassical façade executed by the architect Gioacchino dell' Isola.

Time for your lunch, I recommend among the first courses to choose between Risotto alla Vogherese or Ravioli with Stew Sauce, the second courses will be  Pork loin with Porcini Mushrooms or Cotechino with Spinach in Butter.

After lunch  I recommend reaching the famous Red Church so called for the color of the bricks used for the construction that took place in the twelfth century on the remains of a religious temple of Lombard origin and dedicated to Saints Hilary and George.

With an attractive gabled façade, sober but well outlined in all its architectural elements present in its layout, this building was historically used for various activities, in the seventeenth century it was used as a lazaret welcoming plague patients, in 1800 as  a warehouse for goods, the church was then deconsecrated in 1805 and in 1956 it became the Temple Shrine of the Italian Cavalry.

The visit of Voghera is splendid for all those who love history, art, a destination of great importance often underestimated that always leaves beautiful memories to the visitor for its remarkable charm.

 

Link : https://www.visitpavia.com/en/village-of-voghera

 

Where to Stay | Recommended Accommodation

Suite Vogue Visconti

Villa Simona