Brescello

Information

Altitude: 24 ms
Inhabitants: 5.625 (updated to December 1, 2018)
Post code: 42041
Weekly market day: Thursday
Patron Saint: San Genesio (August 25)
Hamlets: Lentigione, Ghiarole, Sorbolo a Mane

Contacts

0039 0522 482511 - Municipality
Municipality of Brescello

How to get there

Brescello

By car
National Road SS62 (Mantua to Parma).

By train
From the Railway Station of Reggio Emilia: train to Guastalla and then train Suzzara-Parma.

By bus
From Piazzale Europa in Reggio Emilia: public transport service bus No. 93.

Location

Brescello is located at the confluence of the Enza River into the Po, 30 km north of Reggio Emilia.

Historical notes

The ancient Roman colony of Brixellum, already inhabited in proto-historic times, was one of the main centres of the Roman Reggio Emilia province.
In the 4th century St. Ambrosio numbered it among the semi-destroyed Italian cities that he visited in “Padania” in full decline.
It was a Byzantine military centre and soon became a key centre of resistance against the Longobards.
In the battles that followed the town was practically destroyed but revived in the X century under Adalberto Atto of Canossa.
After that it came under the municipality of Parma, of the Visconti family, the Venetians, the Sforza family and, from 1479, the Este family. 
Alfonso II d’Este fortified the town in 1553 with a pentagonal city wall that was destroyed in 1703.

Reasons to visit

In the main square: the Santa Maria Maggiore Church, the statue of Hercules, the work by Sansovino in 1553 and the contemporary statues of Don Camillo (in the Church square) and Don Peppone (in front of the Town Hall), and the ancient San Benedetto Monastery (XV century), today a cultural centre, housing the Peppone and Don Camillo Museum.
Brescello is the birthplace of the philosopher Mario Nizzoli and of the librarian Antonio Panizzi (founder of the famous library of the British Museum in London).

Not to be missed

There’s no question that much of the fame of this city is linked to the film adaptation of the books by the writer Giovannino Guareschi (1908-1968) who made Brescello the town of "Don Camillo and Peppone", the capital of the “mondo piccolo” (small world) described by the writer.
All the "Don Camillo e Peppone" films were shot in Brescello: it is possible to visit the Peppone e Don Camillo Museum and the Brescello e Guareschi, il territorio e il cinema Museum (Brescello and Guareschi, the territory and the cinema), as well as the Archaeological Museum, in which a rich and significant archaeological collection of findings discovered in the area of ancient Brixellum are conserved.

When to go

In spring and summer it is possible to take trips by boat on the Po River and walk along the river bank.

What to eat

The Spongata, a Christmas dessert with a decidedly soft texture and a spicy taste originates from Brescello. It is said that it was created in the Benedictine monastery in 1480 (Spongata di Berselo).

Events

Brescello Film Festival - June
Projection of films and documentaries, productions that recount the Italian province, and conferences.

San Genesio Festival - August
Stalls and musical performances.

Useful links

• Museums in Brescello
• Churches in Brescello
• Where to stay in Brescello
• Where to eat in Brescello
• All files about Brescello