• The birthplace of Pope Paul VI
• The art of Floriano Ferramola in the churches of the upper valley
• To the marble quarries and ancient churches
• Feudal landowers' castles along the Oglio river

Lake Iseo and Franciacorta

The Camonica Valley

Lake Garda and Sabbia Valley

Home course

From the toll-booth of the A21 to Pontevico, we arrive at SENIGA: crossing the Oglio River in the direction of Cremona, there is a characteristic view of Villa Fenaroli (1678) which has been made impressive by the fact that it was located on the site of an ancient castle. From the façade of the building, designed by Gasparo Turbini, a terraced garden slopes toward the river between age-old plants and trees.

The Pieve di Santa Maria di Comella, in the open country, was constructed approximately 1200 copying in smaller scale the basilica of Leno. In the 1920s a first restoration removed the baroque additions, highlighting the brick walls of the building, which bear the three semicircular apses and splayed windows. Open all day on Sun and holidays; on workdays and Sat in the morning (8-11:30).
In MILZANO there is also a "copied" church. In fact the Parrocchiale di San Biagio Vescovo was erected from 1606 imitating Tortona Cathedral (Piemonte), which was consecrated in 1583 when the bishop of the city was a Caesar of the powerful Gambara family. On the right wall is a Last Supper by Paolo da Cailina Junior and a Madonna and Saints by Andrea Celesti.
Legend has it that, in 568, the first Lombard King Alboin claimed PRALBOINO, but the name "Alboinus" had already been cited in 514 by Cassiodorus.

Palazzo Gambara rises on the site of the 1300s castle which in 1516 hosted Emperor Maximilian of Hapsburg. Rebuilt in the XVII cent., it was renovated at the end of the 1700s by the architect Gasparo Turbini.
In the Parrocchiale di Sant’Andrea (XVIII cent.) there is a portrait of Cardinal Umberto Gambara by Moretto.
Let’s go back in the direction of PONTEVICO, where the impressive

Castello of medieval origin is rich in history. It slowly declined until 1803 when it became a foundry. In 1843 an Austrian noble had it rebuilt in neo-Gothic style, knocking down the five towers and the main walls.
Going parallel with the Oglio River, we reach the territory of VEROLAVECCHIA, the characteristic rural court of Monticelli d’Oglio, made up of a single 1600s complex where all the buildings face the square, surrounded on three sides by arcades. On the north side the arcades are interrupted allowing a view of the plain. On the south side, there is the owner’s house, the church and warehouses.
Also in VEROLANUOVA the Gambara family was powerful. Palazzo Gambara, now the Town Hall, was built in the 1500s by the architect Dionisio Baldo di Pralboino. Its sumptuousness is announced by the marble balustrade on the bridge that crosses the Gambara irrigation ditch and arrives at the gate. It is decorated with the baroque statues Minerva and Mars. Inside there are four rooms with vaulted ceilings decorated in "trompe l’oeil" by Malosso (XVIII cent.). In front of the palazzo, there is the vast piazza della Libertà, reached by arched passages through the surrounding houses.
The parochial, basilica di San Lorenzo, reconstructed in the 1600s, was enriched by works of art from the Gambara family’s Renaissance patronage.
The church boasts two enormous canvas paintings (66 sq m. each: Falling Manna and Sacrifice of Melchizedek) executed between 1740-41 by Giambattista Tiepolo. Not far is the Chiesa della Disciplina (XIV-XVI cent.), where lies the tomb of Nicolò Gambara, who died in 1592 and was a leader serving the Emperor Charles V.
In VEROLAVECCHIA the torre civica (civic tower), with Gothic windows, was part of a small castle of which there are distinguishable traces.
We proceed onward to BORGO SAN GIACOMO and, after crossing the "Quinzanese" road, turn right to PADERNELLO where there is the first of the four castles of the Martinengos. From here we go to Borgo San Giacomo and then VILLACHIARA (second castle), from which we head south to the hamlet of VILLAGANA (third). Turning back towards Villachiara, we go to ORZINUOVI along the road closest to the Oglio River, coming to the hamlet of BARCO (fourth).
Orzinuovi has a date of birth: in 1193 Brescians decided to erect a fortress in this strategic location near the Oglio River. In 1520, Venice entrusted the architect Sammicheli with the task of making the citadel impregnable; it took the form of a five-pointed star with seven ramparts. Of that powerful complex, today there remains only the Rocca (1477), a work of the military architect Giovanni Borella; now in restoration.
In the big square there is the Town Hall, in Gothic style. It was an office of the Venetian Superintendent and bears on its south wall the Lion of St. Mark. Next to it is the parrocchiale di Santa Maria Assunta, with a Renaissance façade and a neo-Gothic interior.

The castello di Padernello (second half of the XV cent.) is today in a deplorable state of abandonment. In 1700, Antonio Marchetti accentuated the character of the noble residence, enlarging, opening windows, creating a great internal staircase. There also occurred a mysterious crime in the castle (1521). Victim: Antonio Martinengo’s wife; Antonio was the prime suspect. Motive: jealousy.
The Martinengos had owned the feudal estate of Villachiara since the XIII century. At the end of the 1300s, in the centre of the village, they built their castle, which in the 1500s was transformed into an elegant residence. On the side facing the square, there is a low wall with a cylindrical tower at each end. The exterior frescos (traces) are attributed to the Campis from Cremona.
In the hamlet of Villagana, the medieval castle was radically remodelled at the beginning of the 1900s from the drawing by the Milanese painter, Comolli. There remain the Renaissance arcade in the courtyard, the square stronghold and the south side with a small balcony.
The castello di Barco (XV cent.), constructed over a pre-existing fortalice, never had a moat or draw bridge, but in the 1500s it was famous.