DESCRIPTION OF THE VALLEY

The Nure valley, although an important valley in its own right, has nonetheless remained a "closed" valley because it lacked a direct and well defined passage over the Appennines till the early 1960's.

The Nure river, which gives its name to the valley, has its source on the Northern slopes of Mt. Nero (1754 m. a.s.l.) and after a course of about 75 Km. - the second longest of the province - flows into the Po river 10 Km. East of Piacenza, in the vicinity of Roncaglia.

The upper valley is somewhat influenced by the sea air keeping it free of fog and strong winds, and therefore relatively pleasant even during the winter months.

In this valley there are 79 fortifications (castles, fortified towers and dwellings, etc.) For information about visiting the castles, please call: 0523 329324

We leave Piacenza Southbound to pick up highway S.S. 654 at the intersection with S.S. 45 (this road takes you in the Trebbia valley).

One of the main attraction of the valley is the hamlet of Grazzano Visconti; in addition there are castles, old churches, old 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.

In the upper valley we find the highest mountains in the province of Piacenza: Mt. Bue, 1777 m. a.s.l.; Mt. Ragola, 1711 m. a.s.l.; Mt. Nero, 1753 m. a.s.l.; Mt. Maggiorasca - at the boundary with the province of Genova - 1800 m. a.s.l.; the many trails criss-crossing these mountains will reward the hiker with vistas of high pastures, meadows and small lakes - remnants of the Würmian Glaciation.

TOUR OF NURE VALLEY (180 KM.)

FIND THESE PLACES with:

GOOGLE *** VIA MICHELIN *** COMUNI ITALIANI

(118 m. a.s.l.)

For information phone: 0523 554611

Festivals/Fairs:
* Fair of St. Giacomo - last Sunday of July
* Flea market - last Sundays of June through September

In Podenzano, 11 Km. from Piacenza, there is a XVI c. castle built on the remains of one first mentioned in 1152. The castle, now the town hall, was rebuilt in the XVI c. with stone walls on a rectangular plan , and boasts two cylindrical and two square towers at the corners.

The Romanesque Oratory of St. Germano (IX c.), by now transformed in Baroque style, has the apse decorated with small suspended arches along the cornice, and has kept its original fine bell tower.
The new parish church, designed by Eng. Ucelli and built in a proud Byzantine style contains a very fine and unique Via Crucis created by the painter Luciano Ricchetti.

The Physicist and Mathematician Giuseppe Veneziani (1772-1853), was born in Podenzano.

(165 m. a.s.l.)

For information phone: 0523 870131

Festivals/Fairs:
* Festival of the spit-roasting (in Carmiano) - third week of July
* Spring Festival (Grazzano Visconti) - n.d.a.
* Medieval Festival (Grazzano Visconti) - last Sunday of May
* Festival of Figs (Albarola) - first week of September

A little further on we arrive to the internationally famous Grazzano Visconti. This village, with the castle originally built in 1395 but now renovated and closed to the public, is a rather unique and rare example of neo-medieval surroundings, built by Count Giuseppe Modrone of Milan, at the beginning of 1900 according to "the tendency of the Italian architectural revival of the 1800 and 1900".
In the village we find many artisan shops (the wrought iron artifacts are famous), the little church with the interior ostentatiously decorated in a neo-fourteenth century style, the town magistrate's palace with its decorated façade and other interesting buildings.

In Vigolzone, 16 Km. from Piacenza, there is a castle that was originally built in 1095; at the time it was considered to be the strongest fortification in the Nure valley, but eventually it was conquered and destroyed. The present rectangular-plan structure was rebuilt according to the 1800's style and boasts a 40 meters tall keep where once stood the draw bridge, and large towers alternating at the corners.
In 1888 the poet Giosuè Carducci visited the castle.

(210 m. a.s.l.)

For information phone : 0523 878468

Festivals/Fairs:
* St. Rocco fair - August 15/16

Worth visiting are the Baroque style Oratory of St. Rocco - XV c. - where, in the apse, we find a 1619 painting of the Modonna and Saints; the parish church of St. Giacomo where, on the wall to the left, there is a St. Giacomo in Glory, painted by Giuseppe Peroni and in a chapel at the right of the presbytery, we find 13 paintings representing the Sacred Mysteries dated in the XVII c.

The fine St. Bono palace also belongs to the Baroque style; at one time it was surrounded by a lovely park, where in 1819 the unfortunate queen of England, Caroline of Brunswick resided.

From Pontedellolio there is a road that goes to Rivergaro in the Trebbia Valley

Two kilometers past Pontedellolio, and just before entering the hamlet of Riva, there is the church of Our Lady of the Snow, in which there are two sculptures in wood attributed to the Flemish artist Jan Hermansz Geernaert, one is a Crucifix dated 1775, and the other a Madonna dated 1739.
The hamlet itself is dominated by the privately owned castle, originally built in 1277 with the stones from the Nure river, and eventually finely restored in 1885 and presently it is used as a villa; towers of different size and style are protecting the whole, at each corner.

.

(329 m. a.s.l.)

For information phone : 0523 917718

Festivals/Fairs:
* May fair - first Monday of May
* Old September fair - first Monday of September
* Our Lady of the Oak Tree (Patron Saint) - first Sunday of September

VERY INTERESTING ITALIAN LINK

Before entering Bettola, on the way to Bramaiano, we notice a fine and pleasing building with elegant loggias and verandas of the XVI c. and the Farnese tower.
Bettola, 34 Km. from Piacenza, is the de-facto capital of the Nure Valley and presents itself with an interesting urban plan because it is formed by two distinct boroughs divided by the Nure river.
We first drive through the borough called St. Bernardino on the right bank of the Nure and after crossing the bridge we find ourselves in the borough called St. Giovanni.
In St. Bernardino we find the XVII c. parish church where we can admire, amongst the stuccos, the frescoes painted in 1716 by G. B. Galluzzi; in the large main piazza of St. Giovanni we find instead its parish church dedicated to St. John but also known as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of The Oak Tree for the apparition of the Madonna in 1496; this church was built in 1885 in a somewhat Romanesque style.
Also found in the piazza is a statue of Christopher Columbus, erected in 1892, to commemorate the common belief that he was born in the nearby hamlet of Pradello where a fortified tower built in 1300 still stands.

SIDE TOURS: from the main piazza we can drive up to Pradello, visit Colombo's Tower, and continue to the Cerro Pass (766 m. a.s.l.), from where a mule track takes us, in about 5 Km., to the Montosero summit at 1301 m. a.s.l.; from here, on clear days, one can admire the Padana Valley and the Alpine arc. In addition in the parish church of St. Lawrence in Calenzano (15 Km. from Bettola), built in 1670, we will find paintings by Roberto De Longe and Sebastiano Galeotti.

From the Cerro Pass we can reach the Trebbia Valley at Perino on highway S.S. 45.

(426 m. a.s.l.)

For information phone: 0523 910110

Festivals/Fairs:
* Bardi's horse fair - third Sunday of May
* Potato fair - third Sunday of September in Mareto
* Golden Bisturi -- in the fall in Mareto
* St. Joseph fair (Patron Saint) - March 19
* Groppallo fair - first Sunday of August
* Patron Saint - first Sunday of September in Cogno San Savino

SIDE TOURS: following a twisting and panoramic road on the East side of the town we arrive, after 8 Km. in Groppallo, 950 m. a.s.l. The parish church, built in the XV c., is situated on the rocky "rump" of the mountain from where we have an extensive view of the valley and the mountains all around.
From the nearby Roncolo came the family of Stefano Bruzzi described in "The Masterpieces of Italian Art Illustrated" in the early 1900 as a "painter of landscape, with animal and figures. His pictures often have an idyllic character: they are truthful, and are animated by a graceful sentiment."

View some of his paintings at the GALLERIA RICCI ODDI DI PIACENZA

To the West, 17 Km. from Farini, following a rather scenic road there is Pradovera, 937 m. a.s.l., attractive summer vacation area, located in a lovely spot surrounded by mountains. In the vicinity, still visible, are the ruins of the ancient stronghold standing on a rocky abutment.

After Pradovera we can continue to Santa Barbara, and always keeping to the left we arrive in Mareto, 955 m. a.s.l., a small but pleasant hamlet located on the slopes of Mt. Aserei, 1431m. a.s.l. In Mareto was born the Theologian and Historian Father Felice da Mareto, of the Order of the Capuchin Friars.

Always continuing towards Farini we arrive in Cogno St. Savino, 829 m. a.s.l. and 5 Km. from Farini.
The hamlet, precariously situated on a cliff overlooking the Rossana brook like a little San Marino, is salubrious and charming. The parish church, originally a jewel of the Romanesque style period, was modified and expanded in 1904, but it retained the beautiful bell tower, dated 1000 A. D.
The quadrangular tower, 18 meters high, is built with perfectly squared and polished stones, and is elegantly crowned on each side with a two arched window.
From the church yard we can enjoy a fine view towards Groppallo and the Nure Valley.

(626 m. a.s.l.)

For information phone : 0523 922229

Festivals/Fairs:
* St. John the Baptist Patron Saint Fair - June 24
* Strawberries Festival - second or third Sunday of July

We backtrack and proceed to Ferriere.
Due to its elevation, relative temperate climate and the almost total absence of winds, Ferriere is an ideal location for the vacationer.
The area was already known and exploited by the Romans for its deposit of copper and iron as attested by iron utensils found in Romans tombs in the vicinity. Throughout history the mines were in use at irregular intervals.
In the modern church there is an interesting painting "The Nativity of St. John the Baptist", dated from the XVII c.

The grandfather of the great physicist Henry Fermi was from Ferriere.

Ferriere is an excellent starting point for beautiful excursions in the surrounding mountains.

From Ferriere there is a road that connects to the Trebbia Valley via the Mercatello Pass (1050 m. a.s.l.) at Corte Brugnatella; in addition, proceeding South, via the Zovallo Pass (1408 m. a.s.l.) we arrive in the Aveto Valley and eventually to the Ligurian coast at Chiavari.

(103 m. a.s.l.)

For information phone : 0523 539423

Festivals/Fairs:
* St. George Patron Saint - April 23

Back on the main road, once in Pontedellolio, instead of crossing the bridge and proceed towards Piacenza, we keep to the right and follow a secondary road that takes us to San Giorgio, 13 Km. away.

The castle of San Giorgio, believed to have been built before the year 1000 A. D., was once the residence of the Anguissola family, but now houses the town hall.
The Baroque parish church was built , in the middle of the 1600, on the same spot of an ancient church whose Romanesque style bell tower is still standing. The interior is divided in three aisles and crowned by a beaming cupola.

Close by, in the middle of a park, proudly stands Villa Gazzola also called "La Rocca" (The Fortress), built in 1610 and displaying a well balanced architecture the design of which is attributed to the great Vignola; the upper portion of the building was altered by Lotario Tomba at the end of the 1700.

(64 m. a.s.l.)

For information phone : 0523 510142

Festivals/Fairs:
* St . Giacomo fair - second Sunday of July
* Antiquarian Flea Market - second Sunday of every month

Continuing North we arrive in Valconasso where we can admire an Oratory built in the XV c. with Gothic style forms and adorned with votive frescoes by a variety of artists at the request of Giovanna Scotti in 1505.

We now proceed in a Northern direction and, in 4 Km., arrive in Pontenure.
Around 1830, several Roman mosaic floors had been discovered East of the town, and in the Nure river, still visible, are the ruins of pylons from a Roman bridge attesting to the old origin of Pontenure.
Of interest is a visit to the parish church where, in the interior, we find two paintings by Bartolomeo Schedoni, one representing St. Peter and the other a Madonna, dated 1642; in addition there is a wooden Crucifix of the 1500. The adjacent XI c. bell tower, once belonged to a fortress,

Piacenza is 8 Km. away.