Church of San Bassiano

The Church of San Bassiano was built in the 12th century by refugees from Lodi, who fled the destruction of Barbarossa, and named after the first bishop of their city of origin. It is an example of Romanesque architecture and also one of the oldest buildings in the Cremona area

The parish church of San Bassiano, built according to tradition in 1158 at the height of the struggles between the medieval municipalities, is to be counted among the oldest buildings in the Cremona area and offers an astonishing and singular intertwining of art and history of the territory. In the gabled façade, in terracotta, with a solid Romanesque layout, a splendid rose window with small polychrome ceramic tiles bearing Sforza symbols stands out in its refined elegance. Inside the church contains artistic works of great interest. Among these, three precious panels, among the best examples of the genre in the sculptural panorama of the Lombard fourteenth century, all the more precious as they are rare to see, both for the refined execution and for the age of the works. These are three high reliefs in which an unknown sculptor, referred to as the Master of Pizzighettone, has masterfully narrated the three evangelical episodes of the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi. Three masterpieces of undisputed value, to which the smoothness of the white marble gives a particular touch of lightness. The grandiose fresco of the Crucifixion on the counter-façade and the medallions with the figures of the Prophets placed to mark the central nave are by Bernardino Campi, belonging to the famous Campi group active in Cremona and Milan in the sixteenth century. Compositional balance, anatomical perfection, classical harmony are the stylistic features of Bernardino and the other Campi who fall within the artistic current of Mannerism. A tabernacle, of exquisite Renaissance workmanship, preserves the relic of the Holy Thorn, a very precious gift of gratitude to the then parish priest of Pizzighettone from the French sovereign Francesco I who, held prisoner in Pizzighettone in 1525 after the defeat in the battle of Pavia, became friend of the prelate. Confirming the intertwining of history and art, the altarpiece "Madonna with Child and Saints", which stands out in the presbytery and is the work of Giovan Angelo Borroni, a leading figure among the painters of eighteenth-century Lombardy, also refers to a historical event which it was part of the War of the Polish Succession of 1733. In the Chapel of the Crucifix, a fragment of a fresco from the early sixteenth century reveals a small jewel: an enchanting Madonna of the Annunciation with delicate features and a very sweet expression. Other works enrich the church of San Bassiano: a "Beheading of the Baptist" which echoes the methods of the Campi artistic group, a "Nativity" (16th century) from the Piazzi da Lodi school, a Crucifix, a splendid artefact of the 17th century Cremonese tradition of tradition .

Splendid example of Romanesque architecture with terracotta bricks.