Things to see and do Reggio Emilia

Since 1830, the museums of the city have been gathered in this palace. The Archaeological Museum contains Roman mosaics, medieval figurative pavements from the Duomo and other churches in Reggio, marbles, Etruscan material and a section on Prehistory, including a Neolithic Venus. The palace also houses a natural history museum, an ethnographic museum, a museum of the history of the city (which includes industrial architecture) and an art gallery exhibiting paintings by local painters (15th-20th centuries).

Erected in the 9th century, the cathedral was restructured on several occasions, in the 13th century and during the following centuries. It presents a very heterogeneous style. The unfinished facade, partially covered with marble, is surmounted by a curious octagonal tower, with a niche containing a 15th-century gilded bronze Virgin and Child. Statues of Adam and Eve in the tympanum surmounting the central portal. Inside there are several funerary monuments by Benedetto and Prospero Spani and the Assunzione dei Santi de Guercino.

It is the most beautiful religious building in Reggio Emilia. Built in the 16th century, its square is guarded by six imposing lions made of pink Verona marble. The basilica is flanked by a curious octagonal campanile, whose design is said to have been revised by Giulio Romano, a brilliant pupil of Raphael. Inside, the choir and the apse are decorated with a cycle of frescoes by Procaccini (late 16th century): his Last Judgement is said to be inspired by that of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Note also the inlaid stalls of the choir, works of Cremonese masters.