4 Best Sights in Piacenza, Emilia–Romagna

Attached like a sinister balcony to the bell tower of Piacenza's 12th-century Duomo is a gabbia (iron cage), where miscreants were incarcerated naked and subjected to the scorn of the crowd in the marketplace below. Inside the cathedral, less evocative but equally impressive medieval stonework decorates the pillars and the crypt, and there are extravagant frescoes in the dome of the cupola begun by Morazzone (1573–1626). Guercino (1591–1666) completed them upon Morazzone's death. If you're feeling strong, you can climb the spiral staircase to the cupola for a closer view. Nearby at Via Prevostura 7, Kronos Museum displays the cathedral's collection of religious artworks, reliquaries, textiles and medieval manuscripts.  Take Bus No. 4/17 or walk 20 minutes to the Basilica di Santa Maria di Campagna for more captivating cupola frescos by Pordenone (combined cupola ticket €15), plus panoramic city views.

Housed in a 1930s palazzo and displaying over 400 mainly Italian modern works amassed largely by collector Giuseppe Ricci Oddi (1868–1936), this gallery hit worldwide headlines for the mysterious and labyrinthine saga surrounding centerpiece painting Portrait of a Lady by Gustav Klimt (1862--1918). After viewing the vivacious expressionistic canvas and learning about the theft, forgery and reappearance of the Austrian lady 23 years after her theft in 1997, you can join those who like to speculate over the curious, clandestine turn of events. Not be overshadowed, the luminous paintings and sculptures largely spans Romanticism through Expressionism, with works by De Nittis, Grosso, Pellizza da Volpedo, Larsson and Boccioni.

The eclectic city-owned museum of Piacenzan art and antiquities is housed in the vast Palazzo Farnese, a monumental palace began in 1558, but never completed as planned. The highlight of the museum's collection is the tiny 2nd-century-BC Etruscan Fegato di Piacenza, a bronze tablet shaped like a fegato (liver), marked with the symbols of the gods of good and ill fortune. The collection also contains Botticelli's beautiful Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist. The museum's eclectic collections include not only artworks and sculpture but also archaeological, armory, carriages, glass and ceramics, and Risorgimento artifacts.

The hub of the city is the Piazza dei Cavalli, with the flamboyant equestrian statues from which the piazza takes its name. These are depictions of Ranuccio Farnese (1569–1622) and, on the left, his father, Alessandro (1545–92). The latter was a beloved ruler, enlightened and fair; Ranuccio, his successor, less so. Both statues are the work of Francesco Mochi, a master Baroque sculptor. Dominating the square is the massive 13th-century Palazzo Pubblico, also known as Il Gotico. This two-tone, marble-and-brick, turreted and crenellated building was the seat of town government before Piacenza fell under the iron fists of the ruling Pallavicini and Farnese families.