Cremona, the capital of tho above province and the seat of a bishop, is situated on the north bank of the Po, crossed there by a bridge, 46 miles south-east of Milan; lines ol railway unite it north and westward with Brescia, Bergamo, Pavia, and Milan, and eastward with Mantua. It is well built, of an oval shape, about six miles in circumference, and surrounded by walls flanked with towers and wet ditches. It possesses many good buildings, principally churches, richly adorned with frescoes and paintings by native artists. The cathedral is an ancient structure, begun in 1107 and completedin 1606, thus including very various styles of architecture. The interior is composed of a nave, with two aisles, divided by eight immense pillars, and is gorgeously coloured and gilded. Near the cathedral is the great tower, the Torazzo, erected 1261-1284, the highest in northern Italy, being 396 feet in height. In the third story is an enormous astronomical or astrological clock. The Palazzo Pubblico, also a relic of old Cremona, begun in 1206, contains a few paintings by old masters. Cremona has also civil, criminal, and commercial tribunals, a ]yceum, a gymnasium, a theatre, a public library, hospitals, asylums, and other charitable institutions, and numerous schools. Its manufactures include silks, cottons, porcelain, earthenware, and chemical products. It has a considerable trade by the Po, which is navigable thence to the Adriatic, in agricultural produce, oil, wax, honey, and silk; and the surrounding district is noted for its superior flax. It was formerly celebrated for its violins and other musical instruments, but the manufacture of these has now declined, Violins of Cremona have been known to sell at from 105 to 200 guineas each. Population, with suburbs (1871), 30,508. The site of Cremona was taken by the Romans from tho Gallic Cenomani, and colonized by them at various periods. The town suffered in the invasions of the Goths and Lombards, and subsequently in the conflicts of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. In 1799 the Austrians defeated the French at Cremona.