 Sant'Agata was the home for over 50 years of the opera composer Giuseppe Verdi who was born in the village of Le Roncole in 1813, who lived in the nearby town of Busseto, and who bought the land and built the Villa Verdi in 1848 

Festivals in the town include the "Cherry Festival", held in the second week of June, and the "Festival of the Frog and Catfish", which takes place on the last Sunday of May in the village of Soarza.Villanova is home to a basketball team (Villanova Basketball Pro), participating in the First Division of FIP.Villanova sull'Arda has a railway station on the Cremona–Fidenza line.