Do you wish to dedicate a weekend to the cultural treasures of a museum? We suggest to go to Cremona and visit the Museo Civico Ala Ponzone.

Its many exhibition halls are organized in a modern, spacious manner inside Palazzo Affaitati, an elegant sixthteen century building at the city center.

The museum is a picture gallery that gathers over 2000 pieces, the oldest ones hailing from the Middle Ages. The colection began in 1500 with the first donations by the Ponzone family, who got rich with the paintings from the area's various churches.

Nowadays it guards some masterpieces such as Caravaggio's notorious Saint Francis in prayer or Giuseppe Arcimboldo's L'Ortolano.

An important part of it is dedicated to cremonese still life. Other sections are the applied arts wing, which collects porcelain and ceramic pieces, and a cabinet with drawings and prings visible at the top floor of the structure.

A recently added section dedicates its spaces to showcasing musical instruments of great historic value like guitars, lutes and mandolins, mirroring the city's renowned inclination towards music.