Lodi is a historic city with many buildings from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. One of its hidden treasures is the small temple of Beata Vergine Incoronata, the interior of which is covered with magnificent polychromes.
The city was founded in Roman times, but it gained great importance only in the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, during the wars between Italian cities, it spoke out against the mighty Milan, allying with Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Although Milan's troops razed Lodi to the ground, the emperor soon rebuilt it. At that time, it became an important center of trade and craftsmanship in Lombardy, and the area developed as a result of the construction of canals.
The most important part of Lodi is the Medieval-Renaissance Old Town. Its decoration is the Basilica of San Bassiano, which stands on the site of a church from the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries. The present building was erected in the 12th century, but its final shape was given by a baroque reconstruction.
Lodi's old town is a maze of cobbled streets and squares. The most important of them is Piazza Magiore with the town hall and representative tenement houses. Lodi's great attraction is the inconspicuous Church of Beata Vergine Incoronata. The entire interior is covered with Renaissance polychromes depicting biblical scenes and decorative motifs.
