•
Bobbio Abbey: Former monastery with buildings dating to medieval period, now from open to the public is long ground floor corridor, the main cloister; the service yard; the Abbey Museum, recently restored and enlarged, collects remarkable works and art objects of
Roman,
medieval and
Renaissance ages, and
Civic Museum is a sort of didactic journey, whose admittance is from the southern wing of the cloister, the only one that guards the original portico. • Saint Columbanus Basilica: church built 1456-1522 atop base of a 10th century proto-Romanesque church. Nave frescos (1527) were painted by
Bernardino Lanzani; the wooden choir (1488) carved in Gothic style. The crypt is paved with 12th-century floor mosaic; the marble sarcophagus (1480) of Saint
Columbanus made by
Giovanni de Patriarchi; two marble pluteos used as tombstones of
Saint Attala and
Saint Bertulf; and a 12th-century wrought iron gate. • Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge): the long bridge, also known as Ponte Gobbo (hunchback) or
del Diavolo (of the devil), spans the Trebbia river by means of eleven unequal arches. A likely Ancient Roman bridge existed here prior to 1196. One legend about the bridge tells that it was built by the Devil in one night after he made a pact with St Columbanus who promised him the soul of the first passerby; but when the bridge was finished the Irish Saint sent a dog across. In another legend, a man tricks Satan into rebuilding it overnight after it has been destroyed by a flood. In reality, the bridge was reconstructed after flood damage in the 16th and 17th centuries. • Malaspina-Dal Verme Castle: Begun by Corradino Malaspina in 1304 on the hill overlooking the town, it remained for the duration of his rule a
Ghibelline stronghold. Today it is a square-plan keep, two minor service towers and defensive walls. By the castle affords a good view over the town and the surrounding countryside. In 1800, under the name of Castello Bobbium, the property and marquessate were purchased by the Piccinini family of Emilia-Romagna, who possessed them until 1956 when the castle and land were ceded by the Piccinini to the Italian State. • The Castellaro:old historic quarter under the castle and the park (9th century). •
Bobbio Cathedral: Built in 1075, is the main religious edifice of the city. It has two majestic towers, which are original in the lower parts. The façade is from 1463 (the date in which a portico was demolished), with three portals in
Gothic style. The cathedral presents modern decoration in the three naves and an 18th-century decoration in the presbytery and on the transept dome. Through the right transept, you can reach Saint John chapel where there is a splendid fresco of the second half of the 15th century representing the
Annunciation. The crypt houses the tombs of the bishops of Bobbio, and the chapel of Saint Antonio Maria Gianelli,
bishop of Bobbio. On the right side is the
Palazzo Vescovile ("Bishop's Palace", 11th century), partially renewed in 1448; there is also the garden of the cathedral. On the left side is the
Bobbio historical archives: sited into the premises of the
Old Seminary, founded in the mid-12th century, they keep precious parchments and fragments of ancient codes dated from the 9th century to the 15th century. Available on microfilm the reproduction of all documents referred to Bobbio. • San Francesco: church and convent built in 13th-century Franciscan style. The monastery maintained the original shape while the church was rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century in baroque style. Worth of mention is the inner cloister with squat pillars that sustain four cross vault covered spans on each side and over which runs a wooden loggia with precious medieval capitals columns. • Saint Lawrence church: built probably in the 12th century it was enlarged during the 17th century. Still visible on the left side are parts of the ancient building while on the right outer wall are two tablets also from the previous church. • The ''Virgin Mary's Help Sanctuary
: it encloses the remains of the 15th-century church decorated with a miraculous'' image of the Virgin Mary. In 1611 it was said to have dripped sweat from the forehead. It was given the present baroque classical style in 1641. Two museums are located within the abbey complex, one devoted to the abbey and one to the town. Among the exhibits is a much-admired carved ivory "bucket" of the 4th century AD. • The Abbey Museum: It collects remarkable works and art objects of
Roman,
medieval and
Renaissance Age. Of the Roman period: the
Cocceia family sarcophagus, four cinerary urns, a pagan altar dedicated to Diana and an alabaster
Hydra dating back to the 3rd century. Other noteworthy pieces are the
longobard stones, the 8th-century tombstone of
Cumianus, tin votive ampullae, the
Orpheus ivory shrine and the wrought silver Saint Columbanus bust. In the picture gallery a
polyptyc by
Luini representing the Assumption. • The Town Museum: sited in the ancient refectory and service room, is a didactic journey through the history of Bobbio and can be a sort of introduction to all the other historical places of the town. The first section is dedicated to the life and works of the Irish Saint, while the second section looks at the monastic complex from an architectonic point of view, on a computer which runs a program for a virtual visit of the building, but it is also about the
Scriptorium that made Bobbio the greatest cultural centre of northern Italy. The dressing made of light and transparent supports completed by multimedial means is perfectly integrated with the monumental space of the monastery and its educational aim. • The monastery of Santa Chiara and Palazzo Comunale (15th century). • The ex Church of Our Lady of Grace: ex-hospital pharmacy monastic abbey of the 9th century, now cinema since 1910 and hostel. • The ex Convent and Saint Nicolas' Church (17th century). • The ancient Palaces Bobbiensis: Palace of Porta Nova with arcades (15th century), Castelli Palace (17th century), Brugnatelli Palace (porches and cubic capital with head apotropaic 13th sec.), Palace of pharmacy (15th century), Malaspina (10 into the map - 13th century), Tamburelli Palace and municipal hostel (18th century), Olmi (9) (17th century), Alcarini (5) (with the Teodolinda house - 14th century), Calvi Palace (15th century), Donati Palace with the alley of the Strict (15th century), Buelli Palace (16th century), etc. • Porta Fringuella Square: with the arcades of the 12th century. • Ancient district of St. Joseph (stone buildings of the 12th century. reworked). • The district said Borgo with ancient walls and the Mill Ocelli (12th century). • The old mills: Mill of the City (12th century, reworked), Mill district of St. Joseph (12th century), Bishop's Mill (mill medieval alley today Pertusello private building 12th century). • The Therm of Bobbio.
Main sights in the surrounding area •
Pass Penice, , is at the foot of
Monte Penice, which is a mountain of the Ligurian. It connects Staffora valley (Lombardy) with Trebbia valley (Emilia-Romagna). It is located along the former State Road 461 Passo del Penice. In the square, there is a statue of
Columbanus appointed protector of motorcyclists. From here the road that leads to the summit and the sanctuary. In the winter months, there is an active ski resort. • Ceci and sports centre in cross-country skiing Le Vallette. • The ancient village of San Salvatore and the twists and turns on Trebbia. The little church was built in 975, with subsequent amendments, as the oratory of the monastic cell documented in the 9th century. •
Parish Church of St. Polycarp, in the hamlet of Ceci. The church was built with the monastic cell of the 9th century. •
Parish Church of St. Peter, in the hamlet of Dezza. The church was built with the monastic cell of the 10th century, rebuilt in the 16th century. •
Parish Church of St. Paul, in the village of Mezzano Scotti. The church was built as a monastery of S. Paul in 891, destroyed in the 15th century, the current building was rebuilt after the 18th century. •
Parish Church of St. Christopher, in the homonymous hamlet of St. Christopher. The new church was built in 1910, replacing the previous arose as a monastic cell documented in 972 of which still remain in ruins. •
Parish Church of St Mary of Carmel, in the village of Santa Maria. The church was built in the 16th century, replacing the previous arose as a monastic cell documented in 862. •
Parish Church of Saint Eustace, in the hamlet of Vaccarezza. The church was built as a monastic cell documented in 862, was remodelled several times over the centuries. Near the church is located Villa Costanza (privately owned), former palace of the Malaspina. •
Sanctuary of St. Mary in Monte Penice (1460 m.). Ancient place of worship, the church is documented in the 11th century, the current building dates back to the 17th century. •
Ethnographic Museum Trebbia (Callegari fraction of Cassolo village). •
Castle of Dego (or Barberino) (privately owned), a fortress built in the 13th century Malaspina currently. •
Castle of Scotti (private), a fortress built in 1488 in the resort of Poggio hamlet Areglia (or Area) by Bartolomeo Scotti, destroyed by the Dal Verme in 1516, was rebuilt after a while, currently renovated. •
The old mill Erbagrassa near the hamlet of Ceci currently teaching as a mill visit. •
Tower of Cadonica (private), built in the homonymous hamlet, as a new monastic seat in 1460 along with the new monastery, after the abandonment and destruction of the Monastery of S. Paul Mezzano, near the Oratory of the Mill. • The
Stone Parcellara is a mountain of ophiolite serpentine black, although not particularly tall (836 m) dominates the surrounding hills from which protrudes abruptly breaking away in morphology, colour and grandeur. It allows, from the top, a panoramic view of the whole valley. It is accessed by two roads: one going up from Travo passing through the hamlet of Chiosi, the other coming from the step of Caldarola, you get to the top with a fairly easy trail in about ten minutes. At the foot of the stone, there is the ancient oratory of Our Lady of Caravaggio, in the service of the parish church of Mezzano Scotti. •
Embrisi, a small abandoned village in the hamlet of Embrici above the village of Mezzano Scotti, there is the presence of old stone buildings and local artefacts and sculptures carved in sandstone, very interesting faces and heads apotropaic. • The Carlone Valley with
the thermal waterfall with thermal springs near the ancient
Middle Ages village
San Cristoforo and the old escursonistic
Sentiero medioevale per il Santuario del Monte Penice: 5 km. from Bobbio. ==Thermal springs==