The grandeur of the walls is the first thing visitors notice as they arrive in Soncino (CR). It is the main characteristic of the village.

It already appeared in a fifteenth century drawing and appears well defended by the walls and the fortress in the middle of the Lombardian plains. Restricting the village, they have preserved the old urban layout, standing tall in the countryside stretching over 2km with a series of towers and bastions and three gates. There is no better way to complement a visit than to take a tour of the residence of the Stampa family which was built in 1473 but readapted in the 16th century.

But the rest of the village is also waiting be discovered, with its palaces, churches, courtyards and ancient cloisters. The former Meroni spinning mill stands out, with its eclectic architecture and its high brick chimney looming over the walls, and the Azzanelli palace (from the second half of the 15th century) built by a merchant family enriched with the trade of Pannilana. In the village square there are the municipal buildings: the civic tower, the Palazzo del Podestà, the Palazzo Nuovo and the tower of the hours with the automata, the "matei". Among the most important monuments should not be forgotten the House of printers that collects memories of the ancient Jewish printers and preserves the first complete edition of the Bible (1488).

Outside the walls stands the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the result of the patronage of the Sforza and the Press, which contains many art treasures and bucolic visions.

In short, in a place of ancient marshes, Soncino tries to survive the destruction of the countryside, keeping together its proud features of a walled city and an oasis of beauty. Rye, tree-lined canals, ships continue to surround the bright red of the walls even if the Jewish printers have left.

BORGHI PIÙ BELLI D’ITALIA #INLOMBARDIA