The Cathedral of Crema

What it is and where it is: the star of Piazza Duomo in Crema

The absolute star of the city's main square is the Duomo, a marvelous building in which the Gothic becomes light, in harmony with the elegance of its surroundings. The facade is a masterpiece of decoration: the two beautiful wind windows, one of which is closed by a rich tracery, the two mullioned windows below, the blind loggia in the attic, the rose window, and the splayed Romanesque portal. Also splendid is the bell tower, a riot of loggias, loggets, arches, a decoration that plays on the contrast between the red of the terracotta and the white of the plaster.

Not to be missed is a visit to the interior

Not to be missed is the interior of the church, where the Gothic style returns imposing and severe: three naves and five bays, divided by cylindrical pillars. Only a few traces remain of the frescoes of yesteryear, but the light filtering through the rose window and large windows, some still in mosaic, compensates for the bareness of the walls. In the crypt is a beautiful painted wooden mourning from the 15th century.

A bit of history, between the cathedral and the square

Of the early Romanesque building from the first half of the 12th century, only the crypt remains. The Gothic cathedral, as it stands today, was built between 1284 and 1341, the year in which the imposing wind-blown facade was finished. The reorganization of the square, on the other hand, dates from the 15th century, under the rule of the Serenissima; of the earlier buildings only the Pretoria Tower, dating from 1285, remains; the civic buildings and the torrazzo are from the early 16th century.