Eugi Gufo's siteEugi Gufo

I entered Gambolò (in the province of Pavia) from this side, characterised by two interesting details: the incorrect accent on the sign (in this form it is acceptable only in digital texts and only with certain character encodings) and the two bell towers acting as pillars of Hercules.

A few minutes later I discovered that only the bell tower you see on the right belongs to a church worthy of attention.

In the following hours I discovered that Gambolò is full of bell towers and, logically, of churches. I counted six… Just imagine: a municipality which, together with its five hamlets (each with its own church), hosts barely 10,000 inhabitants, has six churches in the main settlement alone. I therefore believe I was mistaken in previously awarding Robbio first place in the category «number of churches per capita».

While I was standing in front of the door of this church tying my shoelace, a lady came out, looked at me with great curiosity and said:
«I think I know who you are.»
«Oh really?» I replied, desperately trying to identify the moment in my biography when I became famous.
«You are here for the restoration.»
«Unfortunately I am not competent in that field…»
«Oh, sorry.»
And off she went, chasing a man who was pushing away a large plant in a wheelbarrow.

The result of restorations carried out by me would probably have looked like this (with the exception of the flag on the left).

In reality, Gambolò has a great many buildings in need of recovery. Some are in a clearly abandoned state; others (a few) are being restored and put up for sale.

Yet some peripheral areas are pleasant even as they are.

The old watermill appears to be the most solid secular building in the town: I noticed no structural damage, only aesthetic deterioration.

Even the animals appreciate the quality of this building. The canal that once powered the wheel is now full of turtles. They proved to be rather curious and courageous creatures: they posed quite calmly.

In very few parts of Gambolò do well-maintained buildings prevail. I mainly mean the central square and a few adjacent streets. (N.B. The presence of commercial premises on the ground floor of the Town Hall is in fact a rather common phenomenon in small Italian municipalities.)

The local castle, founded in the 10th century and rebuilt between the 16th and 17th centuries, appears interesting when viewed from the outside…

…although some of its details resemble old industrial buildings…

Inside the castle, however, there is nothing particularly interesting: a restaurant, a large car park, a small playground, an association for the elderly, the local Red Cross… There is also an archaeological museum, but in June it is open only on Sunday afternoons (from mid-October to mid-May also on Tuesday and Thursday mornings).

Even the cemetery seems a more cheerful and interesting place. I am serious: Gambolò’s cemetery is one of the most beautiful in Italy (though Milan’s Monumentale remains unbeatable).

Amid the ancient ruins there suddenly emerges a rare example of Italian Constructivism. I hope it does not fall into ruin as well.

Now let us turn to some smaller details. The sundial — located opposite the Town Hall — seems somewhat difficult to interpret… Do you not think something is missing?

Whoever steals such a plaque for me will make me very happy.

Some street-name signs are, at first glance, incomprehensible. I later realised that the house numbers merge visually with the street names. If you know the «designer» responsible for these inscriptions, feel free to cut off his arms: I authorise you.

I have never seen a drinking fountain more deserving of being called monumental than this one.

But the most interesting feature of Gambolò’s urban design is the great variety (and, in many cases, beauty) of its large public planters.

The only litter bin worthy of attention was spotted at the entrance to the aforementioned castle.

Inside the same castle there are benches with a rather complex structure. They are comfortable, though: I tested them personally.

At the entrance to the town there are customised letterboxes: hung on a roadside pole, with the respective surnames displayed in small windows. I have never seen such a thing elsewhere in Italy.

In the outskirts, in front of a villa, I also spotted an American-style mailbox. It is strange that there are not more of them in Europe.

I had to travel all the way to Gambolò to discover the etymology of the expression «a hammer blow to the balls».

The bus stops are large but unlit, without covered benches and without protective side panels. In short, they are dreadful.

The inhabitants of Gambolò prepare to celebrate 2 June by hanging paper chains above their windows. Yes, I saw a great many «chained» windows but failed to decipher the symbolic meaning of this type of decoration.

I therefore realised it was time to leave this strange place. A pleasant walk back towards the railway station awaited me — located in one of Gambolò’s hamlets. «It is an agricultural town,» said the owner of a tobacconist’s shop lacking the mandatory «T» sign.

The 5.6 kilometres to be covered on foot across the fields make for an excellent workout. According to Google it takes 68 minutes — I, however, needed about 45 (walking calmly and stopping to take photographs).