Lombardia · Cremona
Pizzighettone
A walled town on the Adda below Cremona, where Francis I of France was held for fifty days in the Torre del Guado after Pavia.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pizzighettone is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione.
Subscribe and you get Pizzighettone's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 5 min from Parma
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 6,209
- J7°
- F12°
- M15°
- A19°
- M23°
- J28°
- J31°
- A31°
- S26°
- O20°
- N12°
- D7°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Pizzighettone sits on the river Adda in the Po valley, half an hour west of Cremona and an hour southeast of Milan. The Adda cuts the town in two: Pizzighettone proper on the east bank, the smaller Gera on the west, joined by a single bridge. The 16th-century walls run two kilometers around the historic center, twelve meters tall and three and a half thick, and they hold a network of guardhouses called Casematte that visitors can walk through with a guide.
The Torre del Guado, part of the older Rocca fortress, held the captured King Francis I of France for roughly fifty days in 1525 after his defeat at Pavia, before the Spanish transferred him to Madrid. Most of the medieval Rocca was demolished after Italian unification; the tower is one of two that survived. The Bandiera Arancione recognizes the walls and the colourful interior of the Chiesa di San Bassiano in Gera.
How to get there
From Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 1 h 7 min by car.
Verona (VRN) is about 1 h 44 min away.
By car from the center of Parma 1 h 5 min or Brescia 1 h 7 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Milan, Verona or Bologna?
Coming by train into Parma? Pizzighettone is about 1 h 3 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Milan Bergamo airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Mura e Casematte
16th-century walls, two km long, twelve m tall, with a network of vaulted Casematte guardhouses open to visits.
Torre del Guado
Surviving tower of the Rocca, where Francis I of France was imprisoned in 1525 after his capture at the Battle of Pavia.
Chiesa di San Bassiano
Parish church in the Gera quarter, known for its richly painted interior, claimed locally as the most colourful church in Italy.
Ponte sull'Adda
Single bridge over the Adda joining Pizzighettone east and Gera west, with views back along the walls.
Resti della Rocca
Foundations and surviving towers of the medieval fortress demolished after Italian unification.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Da GiacomoRistorante
Da Giacomo holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Pizzighettone meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 6,209 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Cremona, a city of 70,922, is 27 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 6,209, down 5.6% since 2015
- Nearest city Cremona, 27 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Codogno, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €750 to €1,100 per m² to buy, €4.00 to €5.00 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 34% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Milan Linate airport (LIN), 55 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Milan, 1 h 7 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and India, against 9% across Italy. There are 286 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 23% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Cremona province ranks 14th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Codogno, 7 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Piacenza, 17 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Piacenza, 17 km away. The nearest IB school is American School of Milan, 50 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.96% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.72% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lombardia spends about €2,410 a month, €510 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €415 a year for water, on the Lombardia average. In Cremona, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.32, a meal in a pizzeria €10.59 and a man's haircut €22.13.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 9% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 9% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
THE WALLS
Two km of 16th-century fortifications and a Casematte tunnel network, among the best-preserved in Lombardy.
FRANCIS I
The French king held in the Torre del Guado for fifty days in 1525 after his defeat by Charles V at Pavia.
ADDA SPLIT
The Adda divides the town into Pizzighettone east and Gera west, joined by a single bridge.
Common questions
- What is Pizzighettone known for?
- Pizzighettone is a walled town on the Adda below Cremona, where Francis I of France was held for fifty days in the Torre del Guado after Pavia.
- Where is Pizzighettone?
- Pizzighettone is a comune in the province of Cremona, in Lombardia, at 46 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Pizzighettone?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Milan Linate (LIN), about 55 min by car.
- Can you get to Pizzighettone without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Parma to Pizzighettone?
- About 1 h 5 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pizzighettone?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pizzighettone?
- Busseto, Montagnana and Soncino.
- How many people live in Pizzighettone?
- 6,209 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pizzighettone a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pizzighettone is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Cremona, is 27 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Codogno, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 34% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 46 m
- Population: 6,209
- Surface area: 32.06 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Pizzighettone appears in
- The best hidden towns with a serious restaurant that you can reach by train in LombardiaLombardiaby trainserious restauranthidden6 towns · smallest 666 residents
- The best towns that eat well within 75 minutes of ParmaNear Parmawithin 75 mineats well7 towns · smallest 4,693 residents · closest 4 min away
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that you can reach by train in LombardiaLombardiaby trainserious restaurant10 towns · smallest 666 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train within 75 minutes of ParmaNear Parmaby trainwithin 75 min10 towns · smallest 3,770 residents · closest 4 min away
Similar
Towns like Pizzighettone
What all six share with Pizzighettone: in the Po valley · between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Busseto
Province: Parma
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
Montagnana
Province: Padova
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
Soncino
Province: Cremona
both near sea level
Capriate San Gervasio
Province: Bergamo
both near sea level
San Benedetto Po
Province: Mantova
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
Racconigi
Province: Cuneo
both have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Read a sample letter
Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.