Eugi Gufo's siteEugi Gufo

The impression that Brembio (in the province of Lodi) is a classic rural village forms even before the visitor reaches the built-up area.

That impression is reinforced by certain road signs.

And by numerous examples of local period architecture.

For a country village with just over two and a half thousand inhabitants, the local church appears disproportionately large.

Above all, it is astonishingly beautiful inside. I refrained from taking photographs of the interior due to the presence of worshippers: experience has taught me that residents of small municipalities are not especially tolerant of «outsiders» and are hardly accustomed to tourists wielding large cameras. You will therefore have to content yourselves with this exterior fresco.

The headquarters of the musical band «F. Cilea» (founded in 1859) resembles — perhaps justifiably — another kind of temple: a miniature theatre. It is somewhat surprising to encounter it in a place of this sort.

The older part of the village consists mainly of simple two-storey buildings, often not preserved in the best condition, yet at least painted in a variety of frequently lively colours.

There is also a small area of large and relatively attractive private villas, some of which, however, appear to have been abandoned for years (even the «for sale» signs have faded somewhat).

Certain buildings in the centre are embellished in a rather curious manner.

Some new private houses, meanwhile, strike me as being built in an American style. Fortunately, unlike their United States counterparts, they are constructed of brick and therefore ought not to fall apart after the first strong wind.

And then there is the outskirts, built in the thoroughly hideous (to my taste) style of the 1970s.

The largest and best-maintained building in the village is the Town Hall.

The coat of arms of Brembio, widely displayed throughout the village, depicts a castle. I was unable, however, to find any trace of what might remain of it. Let us trust the legend.

Instead, I discovered another exceedingly rare historical relic: the premises of a branch of the Communist Refoundation Party. I had not realised the party still existed.

Even the entrance to the sports centre echoes the stylistic language of a hundred years ago.

Yet there is also space for contemporary fashion. I continue not to understand the trend of displaying scooters inside grocery shops and restaurants.

Among the unquestionably positive tendencies is that of indicating the range of house numbers covered by a given street sign (between two junctions). Thanks to this measure, spatial orientation becomes considerably easier.

The house-number plaques are often plastic yet three-dimensional. Owing to their originality, they seem far more attractive than metal ones.

There — I have told you everything you need to know about Brembio. Let us conclude with a photographic summary: