Castelleone

Founded as a defensive structure in 1188 by the Municipality and the bishop of Cremona, Castelleone was allied to the capital in the fight against Milan: in 1213, the Milanese were defeated by the Cremonese and the Carroccio was taken away from them.

POPULATION

9.506

DENSITY

210.88 inhabitants/sq. Km

AREA

45.08 sq. Km

ELEVATION

66 m a.s.l.

PATRON SAINT

Santi Filippo e Giacomo

The crossing road opens in piazza Borgo Isso, with the high Isso tower, also called the Leone Tower or the Torrazzo, the only remaining part of the 12th century city defence system.

Through Via Roma visitors can enter a dense road network, characterised by a weave of houses with porticos of medieval and Renaissance structure. Perpendicular to the street stands the Piazza del Comune, overlooked by the side of the Renaissance parish church of St. Philip and Jacob, designed by Agostino de 'Fondulis (1517-51), with a façade adorned with terracotta strips. The three naves inside feature paintings by Giulio Campi, Genovesino and Gian Giacomo Barbelli.
The Museo Civico Archeologico, also in via Roma, is housed in the eighteenth century Palazzo Brunenghi-Salvago, together with the Library. The exhibition documents the human history of the area from the Mesolithic to the High Middle Ages.

About 1.5 km from Castelleone on the road that returns to Crema, stands the sanctuary of the Madonna della Misericordia, designed by Fondulis with a Renaissance structure. The interior, with a nave, is adorned with beautiful sixteenth-century terracotta frames.
In Le Valli, two kilometres outside the town, stands the isolated church of Santa Maria in Bressanoro, which is one of the most important examples of early-Renaissance architecture (early Sforza period). In 1461 the reconstruction (which gave the church its current appearance) was ordered by Bianca Maria Visconti following a vow she took. The interior is decorated by two spectacular cycles of frescoes, executed at the end of the fifteenth century, which narrate episodes from the life of Christ.

Every second Sunday of the month, the antique market is held in the historic centre of Castelleone. The antique market was first held in April 1988 and is the first such market in the province of Cremona.