Cultural Sites
The historic sites and places of interest around Palazzo Pignano
After visiting the archaeological site, we would like to suggest some other places of interest and worthwhile architecture for you to discover around Palazzo Pignano. To continue your journey back in time, we can extend our visit to the old village of Palazzo Pignano and the surrounding area.
VILLA MARAZZI
The Pieve went into steady decline towards the middle of the 16th century, for the reasons that we discussed earlier. It was during this same period that one of the oldest villas in the Crema area, the Villa Marazzi was built. The villa is located at a short distance from the centre of the old town, along the Cassanese road. It was built as the country home of Sermone Vimercati, who established the noble line of the Vimercati Sanseverino's with his marriage to Ippolita Sanseverino in 1528.
The building consists of an old tower, which is visible from the road, two large courtyards, and a farm with rustic buildings and the exterior decorated with beautiful friezes. The villa is surrounded by an enchanting park of 15,000 square meters.
The tower, which has been renovated several times is the oldest structure, dating back to the beginning of the 1400's. The building material that can be seen at the bottom probably came from the Roman Villa. The tower served as a lookout for defence purposes, and was built by Benzoni during the brief period that he was lord of Crema. In the 1500's, the defence of the area was taken over by Duke Francesco Sforza, while Sermone Vimercati went on to become a senator in the Duchy of Milan.
Over the centuries, the villa and its tower underwent refurbishments and renovations, but still maintained the original layout. Inside, the frescoes from the 1600's in the hall and the adjoining rooms with furnishings and fittings give the visitor much to appreciate and admire, like the billiard room with its "en plein air" decorations by the painter Pietro Ferrabini.
During the second half of the 1800's, all the building became part of an inheritance given to Count General Fortunato Marazzi and his family, whose descendants still retain ownership of the property to this day. The extent of this architectural complex, the elegance of the rooms, which still echo with the banquets of the past, the beauty of the centuries old park and the owner's hospitality, make the Villa Marazzi especially suited to hosting cultural and social events.
CHAPEL OF SAN GIORGIO
In 1360, the historian A. Fino wrote that in the area close to the Tormo River, Palazzo Pignano was still guarded by the towers built near a castle .... Subsequently the castle was demolished, with the apse of the small Church of San Giorgio suffering a similar fate in 1824, as reported by Monsignor Luigi Coti Zelati in the records of the old Pieve. To this day, the names of the area are still referred to as “Castelas de sura” and “Castelas de sota”, in other words upper and lower Castellazzo. The only structure remaining is the small apse, called the Chapel of San Giorgio, who is highly venerated by the local residents.
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