Via Solferino

This is not, of course, the only street in Cremona's historic centre that offers shopping opportunities. Via Solferino, however, has the unique feature of two delicatessen shop windows facing each other, and representing banners of identity for the town's inhabitants. At number 25 is the Sperlari store, "established in 1836", as English speakers say, and at number 30 the Lanfranchi pastry shop, a historic establishment that is now a multi-brand store, although still widely known for its artisan production. Mustard also prevails in Via Solferino: Fieschi has been making it since 1867.

The district has several more centuries of history behind it, as there is a surviving section a Roman basalt road in the basement of number 33, practically opposite the pastry shops. This type of paving was used in those days to make major roads more usable and more durable. The basalt was in polished stone slabs, with the lower wedge-shaped end driven into the ground. In terms of antiquity, Cremona was founded in 218 BC.

The section of basalt road, which in the better months of the year can be visited thanks to volunteers from the Italian Touring Club, in one of their 'Aperti per Voi' (Open for You) initiatives, was unearthed in the late 1960s while work was being done on the Chamber of Commerce building. You can also see a pavement and a fragment of a lead pipe that carried water.