The best traffic-free bike rides around Fontanellato

Carlo Verdi, Giuseppe's father, was an innkeeper in Roncole. The ancient and simple house is now a national monument that, thanks to modern multimedia technologies, allows you to take a journey through time and become a protagonist of the Maestro's childhood. To the roots of the myth. A stop on the Parmigiano Reggiano and Culatello route, check out the dedicated collection. Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VvmsYUriusD1atQS7 web: http://www.bussetolive.com/it/poi/casa-natale-giuseppe-verdi/

Sumptuous 17th-century residence of the Princes Meli Lupi, who still reside there today. Antique furnishings, the gallery of poets, the Hall of Hercules, the throne room, frescoed halls, and even the ghost of Donna Cenerina populate a residence of the Padan Renaissance surrounded by an Italian-style park. Beauty and mysteries. Stop on the Parmigiano Reggiano and Culatello Route Coordinates: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4rJ4MXdpwx62juFs7 Link: https://www.roccadisoragna.it/

The 15th-century castle in the center of the town, with its towers and battlements, owned by the wealthy Sanvitale family, houses the original furnishings of the sumptuous castle on the main floor, as well as the masterpiece painted by Parmigianino, which tells the stories of Diana and Actaeon. The markets enchant visitors in the square around the moat. Emotions not to be missed. A stop on the Parmigiano Reggiano and Culatello route, see the complete collection. web: https://fontanellato.org/

The patronage of this sanctuary, consecrated to the Madonna, refers to the place LORETO. This is one of the great and significant Marian pilgrimage sites in Europe, along with LOURDES in the French Pyrenees and FATIMA in Portugal. In contrast to the other two mentioned places, Loreto is not known for apparitions of the Mother of God. Here, pilgrims can be shown something very tangible: Mary's childhood home in Nazareth (Israel). Her parents – who are not named in the biblical scriptures of the New Testament – are mentioned in apocryphal traditions: Saint ANNA and Saint JOACHIM are thus the grandparents of Jesus Christ (their common feast day in the liturgical calendar is July 26th). Probably, Crusaders, as the era of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land came to an end towards the end of the 13th century, dismantled the building revered in Nazareth and transported it to Europe. However, this very sober assumption is contrasted by a much more interesting legend: According to it, four angels carried out the translation and flew the house across the Mediterranean.

Following the road of the Food Valley it is absolutely obligatory to pass through Roncole Verdi and consequently visit the birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi.

A really worth seeing place.

Beautiful castle in the center of Roccabianca

Planning the tour of the Castles of the Duchy of Parme and Piacenza we reached the "Fortress of Fontanellato". Rocca Sanvitale is an imposing fortress built in the 14th century on a pre-existing 12th century building. Subjected to numerous restorations, over the centuries it was transformed from a defensive fortress into the residence of the noble Sanvitale Counts who then inhabited it for around six centuries. It has a square plan with crenellated walls and four corner towers and is still surrounded by a large moat once fed by water produced by a spring and rearranged at the beginning of the 17th century by the Parma architect Smeraldo Smeraldi; the entrance to the internal courtyard is via a drawbridge. In 1948 the last Count handed over the Fortress with its furnishings to the Municipality, which subsequently transformed it into a museum.