Giampaolo, who was in charge at Cremonese in the third-tier in 2015, has previously managed the likes of AC Milan, Torino, and Sampdoria in Serie A and last season guided Lecce to survival in the top flight.
Cremonese began the season with an away win at Milan and lost just one of their opening nine games to find themselves in the top half of the table. However, 11 defeats in 15 games without a win has them third from bottom and three points behind 17th placed Lecce.
Nicola took charge in July on a two-year contract, but Monday's 4-1 home loss to fellow strugglers Fiorentina spelt the end of his reign. Cremonese are away to Parma on Saturday.