from Memoir of the late John Talwin Shewell, to which is appended Notes of his ... by John Talwin Shewell, 1870

At Firenzuola, a small bourg, where we breakfasted, we found comfortable and decent accommodations ; after leaving which a journey of twelve miles enabled us to reach Placentia (or as it is here called, Piacenza) by about four o'clock. This fine and cheerful town, containing about thirty thousand inhabitants, and situated in a rich plain watered by the Po, is celebrated for its antiquity ; of which however no monuments remain, and it is now built entirely of brick. We visited here the Cathedral, an old Lombard structure, and curious both within and without, ... the Church of St. Agostino, the façade of which, by Bagarotte, is of fine proportions, ... The great square, which is spacious, and inclosed on one side by the town hall, constructed of brick by Vignola, and having the Saxon arches of its windows very curiously wrought, contains the equestrian statues of Alessandro and Ranuccio Famese, mounted on fine pedestals, the work of Francesco Mola. They are of brass, and are much admired for their spirited attitude, and for the elegance of their draperies. After a pleasant promenade in the environs, we returned to our comfortable inn of " The Croix Blanc ".