Pavia and the Certosa

After half a day’s shopping there is just the right amount of time remaining for a trip to Pavia: halfway between Serravalle and Milan, it is easily reached by taking the A7 motorway. Every place inspires a tale in Pavia. Federico Barbarossa was crowned King of Italy in the Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, which also houses the remains of Saint Augustine. And who knows if Alessandro Volta and Ugo Foscolo, while strolling under the loggias and in the Magnolia courtyard of the University founded in 1361 by Emperor Charles IV, imagined a future with their name written in bold in the history, physics and literature books. Einstein, too, had a good time in Pavia, during a long holiday period in 1895, while he was preparing for his admissions exam to the Zurich Polytechnic, amid dips in the Ticino, bike rides and moments of idleness in Palazzo Cornazzini.