[9] According to Dado Edallo, the suburbs extra moenia would not predate the 11th century, although the scholar does not rule out previous early medieval urban formations of religious origin,[10] a hypothesis that Paolo Favole refutes since churches arranged in the shape of a cross in Italy are of later date.

[9] Finally, Carlo Piastrella hypothesizes only a partial fortification to the east, where in past centuries the toponym "Contrada del Ghirlo" was used, from "gyrus," which in medieval Latin indicated the city walls.

[11] As for the name Castrum Cremae cum burgo mentioned in the diploma of 1162 Piastrella identifies the village as a separate military post, probably identifiable with Borgo San Pietro, which has maintained its own characteristic urban connotation over the centuries;[12] in further support of this are also the chronicles of the siege which agree that the destructive fire set to the city by the imperial allied forces did not affect the supposed Borgo San Pietro, within which many fleeing besieged found refuge.

[13] With a diploma dated February 11, 1185, in Reggio, in the presence of the consuls of Crema Domerto Benzoni, Rogerio de Osio and Benzo Bonsignori, the rebuilding of the city was granted.

[23] In February 1449 a Venetian troop led by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta laid siege to Crema, which capitulated the following September, starting the long rule under the Serenissima destined to last until 1797 (except for the brief French period of 1509–1512).

[29] Bribing the French commander Guido Pace Bernardi in return for a fee, the people of Crema willingly opened their doors to the condottiero to free themselves from an invader who enforced taxes, oppression and robbery.

[29] However, political front reversals led to a new siege in 1514 by a coalition between the Duchy of Milan, the Spanish Empire and the Old Swiss Confederacy; to defend the city, Renzo da Ceri had all the isolated buildings around the walls knocked down, had the ditches lowered and settled in the sanctuary of Santa Maria della Croce turned into a fort.

[30] The situation was revealed in all its drama at the time of the political crisis that began in 1606 with the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the Venetian Republic and the Church State and the real possibility of the entry of Spain into the battlefield in support of the pope.

[31] The Venetian province of Crema was practically an exclave surrounded by the State of Milan and was being militarized through massive enlistment of manpower, reinforcement of border surveillance and provision of extensive artillery.

[33] Several times during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries projects for adaptation and improvement were proposed: these were sometimes radical, sometimes innovative interventions, but the substantial public funding that would be required was the greatest deterrent to their concreteness.

[39] The suppression of many religious orders dates back to 1810 and, among them, was that of the Dominican nuns also known as Santa Maria Mater Domini,[40][41] who were based in a seventeenth-century complex located northwest of the city; in 1817 the new Austrian government converted the former convent into barracks by installing there the "Imperiali Regii Stalloni" intended for the improvement of horse breeds.

Based on a design by engineer Luigi Massari in 1833, a roadway was planned at the foot of the southern embankment, from the present-day Piazza Garibaldi to Via Kennedy;[42] this road, built mainly for the purpose of speeding up access to the Ospedale Maggiore for those coming from outside the city, was initially known as Viale alle Mura, or Passeggio dei Bastioni.

A stretch of wall is linked to a tragic episode that occurred during World War II; Crema was also bombed by Anglo-American Allied forces and the primary target was the railway bridge over the Serio River.

[61] However, on December 30, 1944, shortly after lunchtime a bomb hit the Torrion Foscolo inside which Teresa Ragazzi Bissa (41) and worker Bruno Pizzeghello (38), an employee of an electrical company that was located right in front of the tower, had sought refuge there;[62] the two perished under the rubble.

In 1955, a grant of ten million liras was provided by the High Commission for Hygiene and Sanitation contingent on the expansion of the Dyskinetic Department,[63] and, in any case, the hospital needed new space to cope with the increase in admissions and inpatients.

[67] Also in 1960, at the conclusion of a series of celebratory events dedicated to the eighth centenary of Frederick Barbarossa's siege, a commemorative plaque was placed on the Venetian walls, near Porta Serio, in memory of the historic event;[68] it reads: TO THE HEROES OF CREMAWHO ON THE CITY WALLSFOR THE DEFENCE OF MUNICIPAL LIBERTIESAGAINST FREDERICK BARBAROSSAFEARLESSLY FOUGHT AND FELLTO THE MARTYRED HOSTAGESWHO MADE CREMA DISTINGUISHEDTHE MINDFUL CITIZENSON THE VIII CENTENARY OF THE SIEGEMCMLXIn the 1980s had originated the idea, never fulfilled, of creating a pedestrian path to connect the urban green areas of Porta Serio and the Campo di Marte gardens by partially restoring the old patrol path and the remaining vacant areas at the foot of the walls.

The castle in front of Porta Serio was built according to late medieval principles in 1335,[20] was later enlarged and became the seat of the castellan and garrison;[20] in Filippo Verneda's Relatione of 1683, it is described as a structure with walls of perfect quality, with angular towers both square and round, with an outer pit "of 9 steps" also on the side facing the city and a counterscarp "12 feet high."

"[36] The castle was sold for the sum of 34,000 liras by the Royal State Property Office of Lodi to a company – formed by Counts Barni, Passerini and Bonelli[71] – which resold it to master builder Gaetano Viscardi, who gradually began to demolish it and, starting in 1822, built new houses on the cleared area.