Soncino

The rise on which the old town stands once emerged from the marshy waters of Lake Gerundo, and the name, probably Germanic, is said to mean "king of the waters"; of the Gothic settlement local historians derive it from, neither remains nor documents survive. In 1118 Soncino was made a free borough and shifted from the orbit of Bergamo to Cremona's: control of the Oglio crossing brought wealth, and the Brescians replied by founding Orzinuovi to check Cremona. The Sforza fortress and two kilometres of walls with six towers are what that frontier left.

In 1488 the first complete Bible in Hebrew was printed here: the family of Jewish printers who produced it took the name Soncino from the town, and the house tradition points to as theirs holds the printing museum. Leonardo da Vinci jotted "a Sonsino sol cremones" beside a drawing of irrigation canals, probably the trace of a visit. The town's arms are those of the Stampa marquises, enfeoffed here by Charles V in an investiture that cut back privileges built up over centuries, with the motto Nec aspera terrent, "hardships do not frighten us".