Piazza Ducale

We took a flight from Barcelona to Milan. Collected a rental car at the airport and headed for our destination, a small town in the North of Italy called Vigevano. It was pretty hot and the car aircon was very welcome.

Spending two months in Spain, we had got used to the language and were able to communicate quite effectively. We felt a little lost as we arrived (although Italian is quite similar to Spanish in many ways). I’m sure it won’t take too long before we feel more comfortable.

The earliest records of Vigevano date from the 10th century. It is crowned by the Castello Sforzesco, a stronghold rebuilt in the late 1400s. It is famed for its beautiful and large Renaissance "Piazza Ducale" in the centre of the town. We parked our car in the public car park and took a short stroll to our accommodation. We walked past the Cathedral and onto the Piazza. What an incredible sight- lined with restaurants and already for early evening there was a vibe created by the people milling about for Saturday night entertainment. Our accommodation was an apartment right on the piazza - beautifully renovated and steeped in history. We off loaded our bags and hurried back along the Piazza to make it just in time for Mass. On leaving Mass there was a buzz about the piazza and we found a lovely spot for dinner where we had some delicious pasta and local wine. By the time dinner was finished there was even more people about enjoying the summer cooler night time temperature.Read more