As well as breathtakingly beautiful countryside, the region of Lombardy has some stunning towns with noteworthy piazzas.
From the grand and well-known (Milan’s Piazza Duomo) to the smaller and quirkier (Tirano’s Piazza Basilica, edged by the railway line for the Bernina Express which lies down the high street), there’s often a surprisingly glorious public space waiting around the next urban corner.
Take time to enjoy the varied scale, shape and activities of these (predominantly vehicle free) historic squares that have been the centre of human gathering for many centuries.
Here are just a few of our Lombard favourites:
Bergamo: the Città Alta’s Piazza Vecchia that Le Corbusier declared to be one of the most beautiful squares in the world, and today with good caffès and ice creams
Tirano: the Santuario della Beata Vergine di Tirano in Piazza Basilica
Brescia: Piazza della Loggia, a vibrant lively square
Cremona: Piazza del Comune in the heart of Cremona with the Torrazzo (Italy’s tallest bell tower) which can be climbed at certain times
Isola Dovarese: the cinematic Piazza Matteotti
Mantua: Piazza Castello with the Palazzo Ducale
Milan: the ever-lively Piazza del Duomo with the extraordinary Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
