Located to the west of the city along the route of the ancient consular road Postumia, on the border with Lombardy, Castel San Giovanni opens the way to Val Tidone.
The town was dedicated to San Giovanni, to whom the Collegiate Church is dedicated, built on the remains of an ancient parish church starting from 1130 and subsequently enriched with architectural additions and important works, such as the fifteenth-century polyptych and the Raphaelesque-inspired altarpiece attributed to Bernardino Luini.
Other sacred buildings to visit are the church of San Rocco, restored by Giulio Ulisse Arata at the beginning of the 20th century and the Torricella oratory. A lively town in the early 1900s it saw the spread of Liberty architecture that can still be seen walking through the central streets.
At the eastern entrance to the town, Villa Braghieri is located: a country house built in the eighteenth century that hosted the Duchess Maria Amalia wife of Ferdinando Borbone. The same location now houses the Ethnographic Museum of Farm Life and the Museum of Cardinal Agostino Casaroli.
Alongside the typical Piacenza courses there are specialties of the river region such as marinated eels, catfish, afried frogs.
In the center there is a Theater dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi and a cinema room.
Near Villa Braghieri there is the municipal swimming pool open the whole year.
There are two very important events in Castel San Giovanni: the third weekend of May at Villa Braghieri, Floravilla, the market exhibition dedicated to gardening is set up, while at the beginning of November in the central streets chocolate becomes the star f Cioccolandia fair.
