The monumental center of Cremona is a place of great significance for architecture and the arts. These monuments are symbols, they speak of a community that in the Middle Ages demonstrated wealth and ambitions, with the foundation in the 12th century of the Cathedral and Baptistery, with the contemporary foundation of an urban symbol like the Torrazzo, and with the buildings of the civil administration, Town Hall and Loggia dei Militi, also dating back to the medieval period.
The opportunity to admire such a historical context up close is unique: to undertake a journey into the building knowledge of the architectures with the ascent to the Torrazzo, to visit the story of devotion and biblical stories in the naves of the Cathedral (the 15th-century cycle in the vaults of the transepts and the 16th-century one on the walls of the Great Hall), to enter the Baptistery and observe the spectacular and clear construction of the vault, with examples of medieval sculptures, between the 12th and 13th centuries.
Archaeological Museum of Cremona
The Archaeological Museum of Cremona (opened in 2009) is housed in the deconsecrated basilica of San Lorenzo and the adjoining 15th-century Cappella Meli. It displays the most significant part of the Cremonese archaeological collections: through the findings made from the 19th century up to the recent excavation in piazza Marconi, it allows the reconstruction of the image of the city founded by the Romans in 218 BC, the oldest in the territory north of the Po.
The Romanesque church of San Lorenzo stands on the remains of an older church, dated to the 10th century, which was built in turn on the site of an early Christian funerary building and a necropolis from the Roman Republican era: the museum is therefore itself an archaeological site, whose remains are still largely visible.
Romanesque Stone Museum of the Cathedral
The Romanesque Stone Museum of the Cathedral is located inside the Baptistery. It houses sculptures such as holy water fonts, putti, telamons, the famous statues of Baldas and Berta by Master Niccolò, bronzes, and medieval mosaics originating from the Cathedral.
Historical Chamber Archive of Cremona
The Historical Archive of the Chamber of Commerce of Cremona has a rich historical and economic documentation from the 14th to the 19th century. It also has an educational and museum function thanks to the careful exhibition setup of ancient codes and various relics that testify to the evolution of the productive and commercial activities of the Cremonese community, from the medieval Universitas Mercatorum to the Unification of Italy.
The chamber archive’s heritage also includes statutory and matriculation codes of the ancient Art Corporations as well as weight control instruments, ancient coins, and a very rich collection of trademarks and shop signs of the ancient Cremonese merchants, between the 14th and 16th centuries.
Civic Museum of Natural History
The Museum of Natural History of Cremona is located inside the Park of the Old Walkway, rich in local botanical species, with a pond that has become a natural habitat for many small animals. The museum originated from the collection of Marquis Giuseppe Sigismondo Ala Ponzone (1761-1842), a naturalist himself.
To this initial core, other small collections mainly donated by local naturalists were added over time. The path begins with the historical section, continues with a systematic passage through the individual disciplines (mineralogy, petrography, paleontology, and zoology, with a botanical section in the park), to arrive at the interpretation of the territory. The natural environment, and particularly the urban one, allow the introduction of two very current themes applied to the local situation: an innovative representation of the “city upside down” and, to close the path, a reflection on the conservation of biodiversity.
State Library of Cremona
The State Library of Cremona is made up of two main sections: the Governmental and the Civic.
The Governmental Library (called until 1860 Imperial Royal Library) has its origins in the library founded at the beginning of the 17th century by the Jesuits in the city of Cremona, inside their College. The Jesuits were called to Cremona by Bishop Cesare Speciano (1539-1607, shepherd of the diocese since 1591), and dedicated themselves especially to the education of young people, without neglecting pastoral activity.
As an aid for study and teaching, they immediately began collecting book material, which soon enriched with the most precious core: the personal library of Speciano, of over 1,200 volumes, including incunabula, rare editions from the 1500s, and manuscripts. The original location was at the Jesuit college (currently hosting the State High School ‘Daniele Manin’, Via Cavallotti), adjacent to their church: San Marcellino. The Jesuit library was opened to the public by Empress Maria Theresa around 1775, shortly after the suppression of the order (1773). The Cremonese Enlightenment thinker Giambattista Biffi played an active role in the opening.
The library remains closed for two weeks in August for the annual revision and dusting operations. During this period, the information, distribution, and lending services are open from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
State Archive of Cremona
The State Archive was established in Cremona by ministerial decree on November 21, 1955, but it was only between 1958 and 1960 that the first collections began to be gathered. Thanks to the foresight of lawyer Giuseppe Ghisalberti, president of the Province of Cremona, the Province succeeded in setting up the headquarters on via Palestro in premises granted by the Municipality of Cremona. Over the years, the need for expansion arose and in 1979 the Archive moved to its current premises on via Antica Porta Tintoria, owned by the Cremonese Educational Institute managed by the “City of Cremona” Foundation.
