Gonzaga towns of the Po plain

Your first stop is a walled hamlet on a low hill. Walk the sentry walk along the walls and towers, then walk in the nature reserve around the heart-shaped lake, with a glass of Chiaretto afterwards, before driving on to Grazie.

At Grazie, step into the Gonzaga sanctuary and the museum devoted to the pavement painters, whose national gathering fills the churchyard each August. If the season suits, take a boat from the small landing onto the Mincio, then drive on to San Benedetto Po.

Reach San Benedetto Po, the day's destination, for the Polirone Abbey and its basilica, where Giulio Romano once worked. Visit the civic museum, sit down to a plate of Muscovy duck ragù, and find a bed here or nearby for the night.

Day two begins in Gualtieri, where the arcades of Piazza Bentivoglio frame a broad square beside the Po. Visit the museum of the painter Antonio Ligabue in the palace, then try the tortelli di zucca before moving on to Pomponesco.

Pomponesco is a small ideal city laid out on a squared plan. Climb the steps up the Po embankment for a view over the floodplain, peek into the Teatro Comunale, then continue to Sabbioneta.

Sabbioneta is the day's destination: Vespasiano Gonzaga's walled ideal city. Visit the Teatro all'Antica and the frescoed Palazzo del Giardino, then settle in for the evening and stay the night here, perhaps over a plate of marubini.

Day three opens in Castelponzone, a village that lived by rope. Visit the Museo dei Cordai, stroll the sixteenth-century arcades to the southern gate, and taste the village salame before heading on to Soncino.

Soncino is a frontier town with a castle to match. Climb among the towers of the Rocca Sforzesca, visit the Museo della Stampa and the story of the town's Hebrew printers, then walk a stretch of the walls before the last stop at Gradella.

Gradella ends the journey on a quiet note: yellow houses, courtyards and a tree-lined avenue leading to Villa Maggi and its park. Look out for the fallow deer that roam freely, and taste the slightly bitter Panerone cheese before the road on to Milan.