Attractions and Places To See around Medicina - Top 20

Update June 25. The route is no longer practicable, the trees on the ground, the uneven ground from the bulldozers have made the route practically impossible. I don't know if it is feasible from Castel San Pietro, but not from Castel Guelfo

Done yesterday, the route from Castel Guelfo to Castel San Pietro is about 8km all up and down with curves, super beautiful and fun!! The passage over the stream is doable as long as you have neoprene shoes to walk with dry feet and then continue. Halfway after passing under the highway bridge, towards Castel San Pietro there is a tree that blocks the path, but you can get around it on foot by passing a bit in the woods. Overall the route is clean and doable even with a bit of mud after a rain

Pills of history on the Temple of the Celletta can be found on https://www.vallidiargenta.org/lecomuseo/laculturanonsiferma/pillole/tempio-della-celletta/

Temple of the Celletta or Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Celletta The Sanctuary of the Celletta, with its unmistakable elliptical shape, was built in the early seventeenth century on the site of a Renaissance cell to accommodate the growing number of faithful who visited the place following an apparition of the Madonna. ... Every year on 7 October the Celletta Festival takes place which evokes the transport of the venerated image to the temple as thanks of the population who escaped the 1624 earthquake. (Source: https://www.ferraraterraeacqua.it/it/argenta/scopri-il-territorio/arte-e-cultura/abbazie-monasteri-santuari/santuario-della-beata-vergine-della-celletta)

UPDATE JULY 2023 - With the May flood, the route was heavily damaged by the river and is currently partially impassable. On the Castel Guelfo side there are many fallen trees in the middle of the route and in certain points the bottom has become sandy. Furthermore, at the height of the ford, a part of the embankment (which included the route) collapsed completely. It will certainly take time to fix it, at the moment I advise against practicing it. [I'll try to delete this comment when it's fixed].

The Fonte Fegatella is one of the symbols most loved by the castellans. As the name itself suggests, the source, thanks to its salt-chromium-ionic water (high in bromine and iodine) has healing powers linked to liver health. These powers were discovered way back in 1337, when it is said of a herd of sheep seriously ill with liver disease who, by drinking the water of the Fegatella, returned to health. These properties of the Fegatella water were also studied and listed thanks to tests carried out by university professors present in the city during the seven months of the transfer of the Bolognese university headquarters to Castel San Pietro following the papal interdict on Bologna. ... The main temple monument dates back to the early 1950s, erected by the then independent healthcare company. Subject to interventions and renovations several times, in recent times the source has acquired a second tap towards the Lungo Sillaro park, on the other side of the road. (Source: https://prolococastelsanpietroterme.it/it/monumento/fonte-fegatella-fegatella-source/ )

Piazza XX Settembre, so named to commemorate the breach of Porta Pia, is the beating heart of the city. In the centre, following the earthquake of June 1779, the column was erected based on a design by Gian Giacomo Dotti, at the top of which was placed the image of the Madonna del Rosario, patron saint of the city. The current appearance of the square is the one created in 2002 with the renovation works and the new paving. The main buildings of the city overlook the square. The Town Hall, the Sanctuary of the Holy Crucifix and the Palace of the former magistrates' court. The Town Hall, built between 1845 and 1859, is decorated in the center with a low ashlar and crowned at the top by a tympanum with the city's coat of arms, a rampant lion holding a flag with the writing "Libertas". On the facade, the building houses plaques in memory of those killed in the war. The Sanctuary of the Santissimo Crocifisso was built in 1741 by the Company of the Santissimo Sacramento to house the image of the S.S. Crucifix, donated to the city and venerated ever since. On the left of the church stands the bell tower, which houses the carillon of 55 bells, a work that has no equal in all of Europe, and which is periodically used to spread its harmonious and unique notes throughout the city. The palace of the former magistrates' court originates together with the first nucleus of the fortified castle of Castel San Pietro Terme, ordered by Bologna in defense of its peace and autonomy. (Source: https://www.cittametropolitana.bo.it/portale/Il_territorio/piazze_di_BolognaMetropolitana/Piazze_di_Castel_San_Pietro_Terme/Piazza_XX_Settembre_Castel_San_Pietro)

The Tower and the Cassero della Porta are the symbolic monument of the city, which officially sanctions its birth in 1199 as a bulwark for the defense of the territory of Bologna ... The tower was originally lower ... probably at the end of 1200 it was raised to perform the function of lookout and signaling. The Cassero, seat of the surveillance of the door and the mechanisms of the drawbridge, was perhaps first made of wood and then transformed over and over again according to the military needs of the militias who, century after century, conquered it and used it as a main defense outpost against the enemies. In the early sixteenth century, when Bologna and Imola pass under the Papal State, the Cassero definitively loses its military connotation. Around 1748, work was carried out to remake the roof (perhaps by transforming the roof terrace into one with two pitches), a very large and high room is obtained. It was decided to use it as a place for "public entertainment". It is the beginning of its use as a theater, which will be modified and expanded in 1830, structuring it with stages like the theaters of the time. In 1780 ... the current passage under the tower was opened. During the First World War the Cassero was used as a military accommodation. In 1916 it was struck by lightning and again renovated and used as a room for film projections, meetings, conferences. In 1964 the ancient passage, with a Gothic arch, overlooking the ancient drawbridge was reopened. Since 2008, a new renovation has brought it back to its ancient use as a theater. In 1842 the tower was equipped with a new and larger belfry and in 1784 with a clock, which after a few years, in 1797, would have to be changed to switch from "Italian time" to "French time". (Source: https://prolococastelsanpietroterme.it/it/monumento/cassero/)