Piacenza sits where the Via Emilia meets the Po, the gateway to Emilia-Romagna for anyone arriving from Milan, Genoa, or the Alps. Most people drive straight through to Bologna. They're wrong. The Galleria Ricci Oddi has the Portrait of a Lady by Gustav Klimt (1917) — stolen in 1997, miraculously found in a cavity in the gallery's own wall in 2019, and now displayed with the attention it deserves. Piacenza's Romanesque churches — San Savino (with a 12th-century mosaic floor of zodiac symbols and labors of the months), the Duomo (12th century, Guercino cupola frescoes), and Santa Maria di Campagna (Pordenone frescoes) — form one of the finest groups of Romanesque architecture in the Po Valley. Piazza dei Cavalli (the "Horse Square" — two 17th-century bronze equestrian statues of Farnese dukes by Mochi) is one of the most imposing civic piazzas in northern Italy. Emilia-Romagna →
Plan my Emilia trip →Galleria Ricci Oddi: The Klimt Portrait of a Lady (1917) — the gallery's star since its dramatic recovery. Also: Boccioni, Hayez, and a solid 19th-20th century Italian collection. €8. Piazza dei Cavalli: The Mochi equestrian bronzes (Alessandro and Ranuccio Farnese) — baroque swagger in bronze. The Gothic Palazzo Gotico (now Palazzo Comunale) anchors the piazza. San Savino: Romanesque (12th century) — the crypt mosaic floor (zodiac, months, mythological beasts) is the treasure. Duomo: Romanesque exterior, Guercino cupola frescoes inside. Palazzo Farnese (Cittadella Viscontea): The massive unfinished Farnese palace — Musei Civici inside (archaeological collection, Botticelli tondo, the Fegato di Piacenza — an Etruscan bronze liver used for divination, one of the most important Etruscan objects in Italy). €6.
Getting there: Piacenza station (Milan-Bologna HS line, 50min from Milan, 1.5h from Bologna — but Frecce don't stop; use Regionale 1h from Milan). Stay: €50-90/night. Eat: Osteria del Trentino (€25-35 — pisarei e fasö, tortelli con la coda, coppa piacentina DOP), Antica Osteria del Teatro (€50-70, Michelin). Salumi piacentini DOP: Coppa, pancetta, salame — the three DOP cured meats of Piacenza. Buy at Salumeria Rastelli. Combine with: Bobbio (45min — Val Trebbia), Cremona (1h — violins), Parma (1h), Milan (50min).