DESCRIPTION OF THE VALLEY

The Arda Valley is the most Eastern of the four major valleys in the province of Piacenza, not far from the boundaries with the province of Parma.
When describing the Arda valley, all of the other minor valleys surrounding it are usually included, and they are: on the Western side we find the Riglio, Vezzeno, Chero Chiavenna, and on the Eastern side the Ongina and Stirone. Just a few kilometres after its source the Stirone torrent veers North East crossing into the province of Parma.

The Arda valley includes some of the most well cultivated lowlands of the province, pleasant rolling hills, vineyards, geologically interesting clay escarpments (calanques) and a beautiful Provincial park.

The Arda torrent has its source on Mt. Menegosa (1356 m. asl) and after a few kilometres it encounters a dam near Lugagnano, forming the artificial lake of Mignano. Continuing its course it is joined by the Ongina torrent just before flowing into the Po river after 60 Km. from its source.

Archaeological findings in the form of pre-historic Castellieri (small fortified villages) up in the mountains and of Terramare (see example near Modena) (dwellings built on palisades above ground) in the lowlands, point to ancient human establishments in the area.
The expression terramare derives from the words terra marna which in the dialect of Emilia Romagna means terra grassa or heavy clayed soil.
terramara - English link

In the Arda valley there are 79 fortifications (castles, fortified towers and dwellings, etc.).

For information about visiting the castles, please call: 0523 329324

We leave Piacenza South East bound through Piazzale Roma and follow Via Emilia.

Some of the main attractions of the valley are the town of Castell'Arquato, the Roman ruins of Veleia (sometimes written Velleia or Veleja), the Provincial Park, the Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba ; in addition there are castles, old churches, charming rural hamlets and towns.

During the summer months the "Pro loco" associations of each town, are busy organizing various festivities with cultural and artistic themes.

TOUR OF ARDA VALLEY (180 KM.)

FIND THESE PLACES with:

GOOGLE *** VIA MICHELIN *** COMUNI ITALIANI

(65 m. asl)

For information phone: 0523 509424

Festivals/Fairs:
* Fair - second Sunday of April
* Sanctuary of Roveleto - 16 of July and second Sunday of September

Magnano is famous for its exquisite cherries. The "Cherry Festival" is celebrated in June.

(112 m. asl)

For information phone: 0523 859542

Festivals/Fairs:
* Agricultural Fair - last Sunday of April
* Festival of the "Coppa" (cured pork meat specialty) - first Sunday of September

Presently the old castle, rebuilt many times, is used as the town hall but it has retained a fine portico with columns crowned with sandstone capitals; there is also the Civic Tower built in the Middle Ages.

In the vicinity of Carpaneto we find another interesting castle in Travazzano still displaying two of the original four towers, the square plan keep, a large fireplace with the coat of arms of the Chiapponi family and a panneled ceiling.

(550 m. asl)

For information phone: 0523 856121 or 856131

Festivals/Fairs:
* Fairs - first Sunday of August and September
* Patron Saint Fair (St. Paul's Conversion) - January 25

After Celleri and Sariano, with its interesting Romanesque church built around the year 1000 and famous for its excellent white wines, we arrive in Gropparello, 30 Km. from Piacenza, well known for its picturesque castle perched on a rocky escarpment of red gabbro, just outside the hamlet.
First built around 800, it was destroyed in 1255 and consequently rebuilt. Due to the terrain it was built with a very irregular plan. At the main entrance there is the gate with the draw bridge, the Guelph style merlons crowning the embattlements and overlooking the whole is a quadrangular keep with small windows.
In the interior we find an interesting "Hall of Arms" in addition to furniture and tapestries of the XVII and XVIII c.

Archaeological artifacts point to the fact that this area was inhabited since the early Iron Age.
Also in this area there were at one time oil and gas wells, since depleted.

Just before entering Gropparello, between Sariano and Valle, we drive by one of the areas belonging to the "Regional Paleontological Reserve of the Piacenziano"
* Examples of Cypraidae of nearby Badagnano (Italian)
* Subdivisions of the Pliocene Epoch

(469 m. asl)
For information about visiting the site please phone : 0523 897113

Information about the museum.
Area Archeologica di Veleia

This site was discovered by chance when, in 1747, the "Tabula Alimentaria Traiana" the largest Roman bronze artifact ever found was brought to light; it has been housed in the Archaeological Museum of Parma since 1760.
It appears that Veleia was originally inhabited since 500 B.C. (2500 years old cenerary artifacts were also unearthed in the vicinity) then by the Ligurians (Celtic tribes) and that by the Ist c. A. D. it had already been transformed into a thriving and prosperous Municipium by the Romans, with its own priests and magistrates.

The visible ruins are situated on several terrace-like planimetry; in addition to various ruins of dwellings we can also admire: the "Thermae" which can be dated from the late Ist c. A.D.; the "Forum" still retaining the sandstone pavement, donated by Lucio Lucilio Prisco, and the water drainage system both almost all intact; the "Basilica" was built on a rectangular plan and only with one aisle; it was in this area that the Tabula Alimentaria Traiana and twelve marble statues of the Julis-Claudia family were found in 1761 and now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Parma with other artifacts from Veleia. There is also a circular building the identification and use of which is still being debated by the experts.

Plinius refers in his "De varietate nascendi" book 7, paragraph 49, that at the time of Vespasianus and Titus census, in Veleia there lived six 110 year old persons, four 120 year old and one 150 year old whose name was Marcus Mutius Marci filius Galerius Felix.

It is believed that the slow decline of the once flourishing community of Veleia was due to a landslide at the beginning of the IV c. A. D.

Interesting video

HIKING: from Veleia one can hike through the Provincial Park up to the Mt. Croce dei Segni (1072 m. asl) via a mule path; the view from the top is very rewarding (about 3 hrs. return).

(430 m. asl)
For information phone : 0523 891382 or 891225

Festivals/Fairs:
* May Singalong festival - April 30
* Agriturism festival - first Sunday of August

HIKING: interesting hiking to the rocky Mt. Menegosa (1356 m. asl) and to Mt. Lama (1345 m. asl) a high plateau with vast pastures.

We continue down to Mignano lake and towards Lugagnano, but 1.5 Km. after crossing the bridge over the Arda we turn right going up towards the hamlet of Corti and then continue North, on a rather panoramic road, for Vernasca (about 25 Km. from Morfasso).
After the hamlet of Castelletto and before arriving in Bravi, we should take time to drive to the hilltop where the hamlet of Vezzolacca (618 m. asl) is situated and admire the excellent view over Mignano lake and the Arda alley.

Vernasca, 42 K. from Piacenza, is a pleasant and airy town located on a ridge overlooking the Arda valley on the West side and the Ongina valley on the East. In Vernasca we find a rectangular bell tower beautified by four two-arched windows at the top and two additional on a lower level on the wider sides. The tower stands beside the apses of the Romanesque parish church which was dedicated to St. Columban and was built at the beginning of the XII c. with a nave and two lateral aisles in the basilica style plan; unfortunately the remains of this jewl of a church was incomprehensibly demolished at the beginning of the 1900's.

Before leaving Vernasca one must visit the borough-castle of Vigoleno about 10 Km. East overlooking the Stirone torrent and its natural park (Italian link). Vigoleno, one of the most attractive hamlets of Emilia Romagna and designated as one of the most beautiful hamlets of Italy, boasts a castle originally built in the XIIth c. and within its walls the parish church, considered to be one of the major Romanesque monuments in the Province of Piacenza. The church, dedicated to St. George, was also built around the XIIth c. with the façade reflecting Tuscan style influences and a deep splayed portal crowned with a lunette carved with St. George slaying the dragon. The interior is divided in three aisles supported by large cylindrical columns adorned by capitals carved with flowers and leaves.

(224 m. asl)
For information phone: 0523 803161 or 803702

Festivals/Fairs:
* International award Luigi Illica (bi-annual) - first week of July
* Historical tournament and costumes dinner in the piazza - first two weeks of July

One of the Most Charming Hamlets in Italy

In Lugagnano there is the parish church originally built in 1219 which was rebuilt in the XVIth c. and is dedicated to St. Zenone. Inside some chapels are in the Baroque style with paintings are in the style of Caravaggio.
From Lugagnano we can take a drive up to the Provincial Park just 15 Km. South by taking the panoramic road overlooking the Chiavenna Valley on the West side and the Arda Valley on the East side. The park extends for about 10 square kilometres and includes beech groves, chestnuts groves, conifers and vast pastures; in addition one can hike up to the Mt. Croce dei Segni (1072 m. asl) where the view from the top is very rewarding.

Northward just outside Lugagnano, on the left overlooking the road we notice the Calanques or cliffs, where back in 1934 the fossil remains of a whale more than 20 meters long were found; these remains are now in the Geological Museum of Parma.

Continuing on the same road, on the left bank of the Arda, we arrive, in 5 Km., in the famous town of Castell'Arquato.
With its historic centre proudly situated on top of the hill and with the rest of the old medieval dwellings built on the slopes almost all the way down to the river bank, Castell' Arquato is without any doubt one of the major attractions of the region.

It is recommended to visit the old town on foot in order to appreciate its medieval flavour.
We start by passing under an arch which takes us into the Monteguzzo quarters with its low dwellings attached to each other and built with bricks and tufo in narrow streets paved with pebble-stones.
On the left we notice the Farnese castle-keep built in bricks at the end of the XVIth century. Further on we pass under the archway of the romantic Stradivari castle, built in neo-Gothic style; along this itinerary we walk by three or four old churches and the ex hospital of St. Spirit, built at the end of the XVI c., and presently housing the Geological Museum in which are displayed many fossils found in the area and belonging to the Piacenziano stratus.

We then arrive in the beautiful piazza (described by some as one of the most beautiful medieval piazzas of Italy) crowned by the Pretorio Palace, built in 1293 and now housing the town Hall offices; at the opposite end we find the castle or Rocca, a stronghold built in 1343 with the wall and the main keep-gate still standing, and in between stands the apses of the Romanesque parish church rebuilt in 1122 after the earthquake of 1117, and renovated in 1911. In the interior, divided in three aisles, we find paintings dated 1170, a wooden cross over the main altar dated to the end of the 1300's , and a baptismal font from the VIIIth c. (some experts believe to be from the VI-VIIth c.); in the nearby presbytery we can visit the museum of the Collegiata.

On the West side of the church we can admire the XIVth century addition of a raised prostyle portico.

Luigi Illica, "librettista", wrote the lyrics of many operas such as Puccinis' Madame Butterfly, was born in Castell' Arquato.

An interesting detour is to Vigolo Marchese, 8 Km. West of Castell'Arquato, in order to visit two important Medieval monuments: the circular Battistero and the nearby parish church both built in bricks in the XI c. as part of a monastic centre.
Check note no. 1 in Brick in the Middle Ages

Wines of Valchiavenna (in Italian)

CASTELL'ARQUATO by GLOBOPIX

(80 m. asl)
For information phone : 0523 983716

Festivals/Fairs:
* Fair of San Fiorenzo Patron Saint - 17 of October

The façade, with a portal in Renaissance style, is divided in three by pilasters and crowned by five pinnacles; the main nave and the two lateral aisles are divided by cylindrical brick columns supporting lancet arches.
We can observe frescoes dating from the XVI c. and XVII c. and paintings by Pietro Galli from Piacenza in addition to decorations in plaster from the 1700; splendid is the main altar built on a design by Gian Paolo Pannini, and in a frame carved by Guglielmo Menegazzi (1513), we can admire a fine painting by Marco Bonifaci (XVII c.); the 47 m. high bell tower, built on a pre-roman structure, stands across the piazza, far from the church.

Nearby we find the oratory of the Good Death with an ovoidal cupola built in the 1600; in the Baroque style we find the churches of St. Francis and the Madonna of Caravaggio.

From Fiorenzuola we proceed East on the Emilia highway towards Alseno where we follow the directions for the well known and once famous Chiaravalle della Colomba Abbey founded by Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux in 1135.

Like others Cirstencian churches, this one was also built with three aisles divided by cross-shaped pillars supporting semicircular arches; the main marble altar dates from 1771; the visible fragments of frescoes can be dated from the XIV and XV c.

The main attraction of the abbey is the magnificent Cloister measuring 40 meters on each side and displaying 130 small red marble columns that are twinned to form several four-arched openings; of particular interest are the angular columns tied together by a Gothic style knot. The bell tower was built in 1570. The whole structure is almost totally built with a warm red brick.

(51 m. asl)
For information phone : 0523 836524 or 836608

Festivals/Fairs:
* Fair of St. Joseph - March 19

In the central main square we find the parish church, dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie, whose construction started in 1481 on a plan by Gilberto Manzi; the bell tower dates from the 1500 and the present façade was redone in 1881. The interior, divided in three aisles by massive pilasters supporting dashing ogival arches, reflects a tardo-gothic Lombard style in turn somewhat updated with Renaissance elements.

Of great interest is the tomb on the right dated 1499, containing the remains of Gianlodovico the founder of the town and his wife Anastasia Torelli, created by a Lombard artist from the Amadeo school. In addition there are two polyptics, dated 1499, by Filippo Mazzola father of Parmigianino. In the chapel of the Holy Sacrament we find "The Assumption" a painting (1487) by Francesco Scaramuzza thought to have inspired Giuseppe Verdi when writing the music for "La Vergine degli Angeli " in his opera "La Forza del Destino".

Another interesting monument to visit is the monastery and church of St. Francis that once belonged to the Franciscan order. This complex was built between 1487 and 1492 on a project designed by Gilberto Manzi at the request of Rolando Pallavicino.

The monastery boasts in having the largest cloister of the province of Piacenza. The church, with a façade alternating Gothic and proto-Renaissance elements, has the interior divided in three aisles by massive pilasters of different styles. Several frescoes by Pordenone (1483 - 1539) decorate the chapel of St Anne.
Before leaving Cortemaggiore we should also visit the Baroque church of St. John, built between 1625 and 1630 with the cupola painted by Robert De Long in 1705 and the oratory of St. Joseph built between 1576 and 1593, richly decorated in Baroque style stuccoes created by Bernardo Barca and Domenico Dossa.

OTHER TOWNS IN THE LOWLANDS

SAN PIETRO IN CERRO

(44 m. asl)
For information phone : 0523 836479

Festivals/Fairs:
* Town's fair - first Sunday in October

VILLANOVA D'ARDA

(43 m. asl)
For information phone : 0523 837115 or 837440

Festivals/Fairs:
* Fish and frog fair - last Sunday of May
* Cherry festival - in the month of June (when the renowed cherries of the area are ripe)

The painter Renato Bertoloni was born in Villanova in 1921.

CASTELVETRO PIACENTINO

(39 m. asl)
For information phone : 0523 823043

Festivals/Fairs:
* Festival in the fields - second Sunday in July
* Fair of San Giuliano - third Sunday of August

MONTICELLI D'ONGINA

(40 m. asl)
For information phone : 0523 820441

Festivals/Fairs:
* Fair of the geraniums - third Sunday of May
* Garlic festival - first Sunday of October

The vast castle built in 1413 on a rectangular plan, still displays four cylindrical towers at the corners and a square gate-keep on the front. The interiors are decorated with XV c. frescoes.
The jewel of the castle is the Cappellina di Corte (Court's Chapel) decorated by the famous Bonifacio and Benedetto Bembo.

Also from the XVth c. is the parish church, whose plans are attributed to Giovanni Battagio. The interiors were re-done during the Baroque period and the façade was re-done in 1877 by Arborio Mella; frescoes from the XVI c., two of which were painted by Molosso, can still be admired.

In Monticelli we can visit the Museo Civico and the Museo Etnologico.

CAORSO

(42 m. asl)
For information phone : 0523 822641

Festivals/Fairs:
* Spring festival - last Sunday of May
* September festival - second Sunday of May
* Po festival - second Sunday of June

The parish church, built in the XV c. with the façade renovated in the 1800, has decorations dating back to the 1480 from local artists.

Piacenza is 15 Km. away.