Valenza dates back to the Roman era. It is the birth place of San Massimo (sec.V-VI), the very important Gian Galeazzo Visconti was a guest here. Many battles took place here during the era of Napoleon and during the last world war. The porticoes of Piazza XXXI Martiri and of via Po are all that remains of the medieval centre. They frame the Teatro Sociale which dates from the 180Os. The neo-classical Palazzo Pellizzari is now the Town Hall where a plaque inscribed with a poem which remembers the fall of the partisans, written by Salvatore Quasimodo and sculpted by Giacomo Manzù can be seen
Places to visit: the churches Chiesa dell'Annunziata, Chiesa di San Bernardino, Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Palazzo Pastore and Palazzo Ceriana, Teatro Sociale (community theatre), communal centre of culture, Parco del fiurne Po (park off the river Po), Museo di Arte Orafa (art of gold crafting museum).