Lodi Travel Guide - Lombardy, Italy

We are in the heart of the Po River Valley, in a beautiful land dotted with fascinating castles and religious sanctuaries. The green and gray Lodi plain is interrupted here and there with spots of water in part formed by the River Adda. A lot of natural parks and animals, a rich vegetation for a kind of unique.

1. Best things to do in Lodi

The central part of Lodi is the amazing Victory Square (Piazza della Vittoria).
All around this square, the highlight of your visit, you can see the 12th century cathedral, the principal monument in the town, and a lot of other interesting historical buildings.
All the streets around the cathedral has a very pretty medieval old town look, with attractive well-loved gardens and pastel coloured houses. These include various interesting 'palaces' such as the 15th century.
Palazzo Mozzanica, the 18th century Palace Modignani where Napoleon once stayed and the 14th century palace Vistarini with its arcaded brick facade.

2. Lodigiano and surroundings

Such a peaceful countryside with stretches of water and an excellent cuisine: a perfect mix for relaxing or spending time in outdoor activities such as bike routes run or canoeing on the River Adda.
A special way to explore the terrain is visiting the Province of Lodi's farmsteads, the one of Grazzanello for example, converted into an amazing cultural museum. There are a number of interesting and beautiful museums to visit: the Museo Cabriniano and the Lamberti Art Collection in Codogno, Paolo Gorini Anatomical Collection, the Prints and Art Prints Museum, the private collection "The World of the Nativity Scene" in Salerano sul Lambro.

3. Tastes and local foods

A lot of gastronomy festivals take place during the year with local products because a land so involved in agriculture cannot fail to delight your palate.
Best food experience include cheeses, such as mascarpone along with Pannerone, cheeses with flavors that are becoming hard to find.
Typical dishes are rice with sausage, fried polenta and wild pigeon. Among the starters you can also find omelettes cooked in numerous ways and Rugnusa (with sausage).
The Pannerone (the name comes from the Lombard dialect for cream) is a soft, fatty cheese and, contrary to almost all cheese, is not salted, thus lending it a very characteristic taste).
Polenta is served with a lot of dishes. One special dish is the Pulenta pastissada, made with sauce, ground beef, butter and flakes of grana cheese. Vegetarians will appreciate the ratatouille, an herb served with polenta.

4. Nature, sport and green itineraries

Lodi reveals its secrets in a rural seduction, in the harmony of details, in the ability to combine tradition with the advantages of modern technology.
Not just agriculture but also boats and river around the south park of the Adda. The protected territory includes dead lakes that the river has created over the years.

The navigation on the river Adda is a unique experience: to discover nature, animals and plants that live on the banks of picturesque and colorful river. Several routes start from the municipalities of Pizzighettone and Lodi and can be enjoyed with cycling or walking.

Do not forget the storks. The Adda Sud Park, in the municipality of Castiglione d'Adda, is the center of acclimatization for the white stork. Thanks to the establishment of the protected territory of the Adda, the South Park still has environmental characteristics suited to the ecological requirements of the White Stork, very easy to spot.

5. Where to stay in the city and surrounding

Discover all ecofriendly accommodations in the province of Lodi: from organic farms in Lower Valley, the B&B with rural vocation in the Lodi area, tasting the flavors of farm cuisine poor but delicious.

Discover all eco-friendly accommodations in Lodi

Cover photo: Plain of Lodi, photo by Fabrizio via Flickr