Eugi Gufo's siteEugi Gufo

Now that I have visited it, I wonder why I had never included the town of Treviglio in my list of places to see in the near future. I had passed through it several times, always limiting myself to thinking, «It would be nice, one day…» In the end, I remembered it on a rainy day in the summer of 2014: it is fairly close to Milan, so in the event of encountering bad weather I would not have regretted the time spent travelling too much.
The historic centre of Treviglio makes a rather strange impression: it has some beautiful elements, overall it seems reasonably well kept, yet many individual buildings look as though they had been constructed by Chinese builders copying Europe.

Right in the centre, one can also see modern buildings erected in the second half of the twentieth century. Here, for example, is the square in front of the Cathedral and one of the nearby streets.

Those who prefer traditional architectural beauties need not worry: there are plenty of churches to visit.

I managed to enter only the local Cathedral, and I can now testify that it deserves to be studied carefully from the inside as well.

The worst paving that a human mind could ever have conceived is now vertical too!

In some areas, restoration works are in fact merely cosmetic.

The Teatro Filodrammatici, housed in a beautiful Art Nouveau building dating from 1905, does not appear to be operational: the spaces for posters are empty, and through the first-floor windows one can see only chairs left in disorder. Bad, very bad.

Throughout the town, even in the very centre, there are numerous large abandoned villas now in poor aesthetic condition. A pity: some of them are beautiful and architecturally interesting. Fortunately, a few are for sale, so there remains at least a slight hope of seeing them brought back to life.

Some of their details deserve close examination.

At the same time, many new residential buildings are being constructed in the town.

Another building in an obvious state of abandonment is the old mill…

Or rather, according to a local restaurateur, it is called «mulina», with a final «a». Is that dialect?

Treviglio, too, has at least one street dedicated in a sensible manner, for a concrete merit rather than for abstract patriotism. So far, the only dedication equally well done that I had encountered was in Finale Ligure.

Some streets in the historic centre are named after ancient Treviglio families: a pleasant way of preserving local history.

Treviglio is the homeland of internal house numbers. I have never seen so many signs of this type in a single town. Essentially, there is at least one in every street.

The monument «To the Fallen of the Sea» reminds us that Treviglio is a great naval power.

This makes far more sense:

An interesting detail: in the historic centre, the lamp posts have one of their four glass panels coloured. I was unable to verify this personally, but judging from the fixtures I saw in Treviglio, there seem to be areas with yellow, pink and black lights… and who knows what others…

Speaking of lamp posts. One of the correct ways to illuminate pedestrian crossings (in order to make them safer at night) is this:

Advanced-level pedestrians know how to use bike sharing. In Treviglio there are actually two bike-sharing systems. The first is of the old type and resembles the one I saw some time ago in Lodi.

The second Treviglio bike-sharing scheme is of the modern type, very widespread throughout Lombardy. See, for example, Brescia and Lecco.

Considering the architectural confusion of the historic centre mentioned above, I would say that these benches placed in front of the Cathedral no longer spoil the town’s image.

But the most original benches are to be found in one of the public parks.

The most common litter bins in the historic centre may be considered original.

But sometimes one encounters the beautiful and rare ones, previously seen only in Soncino and Finale Ligure.

Or bins identical to those in Salò.

And finally, the rarest example:

Another beautiful and useful object, seen in only a single specimen, ought to be widely adopted in cities all over the world. I do not think it would cost much to install it at least in town centres.

Another positive feature: in Treviglio it is fairly easy to come across bins for used batteries and expired medicines.

At this point it is worth changing the subject. The dispenser of raw milk supplied directly by local farmers is a typical feature of small provincial towns. In the specific case of Treviglio, one litre of milk costs 1 euro (0.89 for «subscribers»); an empty bottle costs 20 cents if plastic and 50 if glass. I think it is a good thing.

Yes, in general Treviglio’s entrepreneurs are fairly modest. So modest that they have to sell their own factories.

Is a more banal name for a tobacconist’s even possible? Yet this is the first time I have seen a shopkeeper brave enough to apply it.

Treviglio’s political life is more contradictory than the Renzi government: it brings together opposing political forces.

But this group of flags reminds us: unity is strength. Perhaps. Sometimes.

Meanwhile, in this town even surveillance cameras have to be protected against theft.

I have never seen an intercom positioned like this.

In front of Treviglio railway station we see a fine free car and motorbike park. Another, also free but much larger, is located to the right of the two-storey building. What do I mean with this photograph? I mean: if you want to increase the use of public transport, at least build park-and-ride facilities! A great many people live in extremely inconvenient areas where public transport does not reach at all (or runs only two or three times a day). These people must have the possibility of driving to the nearest station, not all the way to work.

A similar argument applies to bicycles: if you know where to leave it, use the bike and public transport rather than the car. However, I am not sure how convenient a rack of this type is to use. And above all: do bicycles not get damaged when hung like that?

Treviglio station is relatively large and functional, but with certain pseudo-antique decorative elements.

One of the dead-end tracks has been reserved for a contemporary artwork entitled «Financial Crisis». Unfortunately, the author is not indicated.

In front of the station, less than two metres from the exit, we find a fine and modern taxi stand.

The interurban bus stops, on the other hand, are realised in a minimalist style.

In conclusion, I can say that Treviglio is a town that may also be of interest from the point of view of a traditionalist tourist. Being small, relatively close to Milan, and well served by trains, it should not prove too demanding.