The best road cycling routes around Besenzone

Busseto is a charming Italian municipality of about 6,900 inhabitants located in the beautiful province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna. The ancient and elegant capital of the small feudal state of the Pallavicino family, this small town in the Bassa Parmense area is universally famous for being the cradle of the genius Giuseppe Verdi, who was born in 1813 in the hamlet of Roncole Verdi. Every corner of the village, characterized by the typical and evocative Po Valley arcades, is scented with music, opera, and great culinary tradition.

Features a traffic light for cars but a bike lane. Depending on the direction of travel, we find it on the right, which is perfectly convenient, or on the left, which requires crossing twice. Traffic is very light anyway, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Perfect footbridge, be careful that you have to "anticipate" the entry into the cycle path well before the bridge. Entering Cremona it comes quite naturally, being on the right side of the road; exiting instead, finding yourself on the left side of the road, you have to take it at the roundabout, afterwards it becomes impossible to cross, both due to traffic and the presence of a dividing wall.

Beautiful views especially in the summer period

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.

Bridge over the Po in Cremona

Nestled in the hills of Val d’Arda, which in prehistoric times were covered by the sea and of which traces remain in numerous fossils, Castell’Arquato stands within the Parco Regionale del Piacenziano, which takes its name from this historical period. An Orange Flag of the Touring Club Italiano, the medieval village, of rare beauty and great scenic impact, is capable of fascinating from afar, with its profile dominating the entire valley, as well as up close, with its narrow streets and its medieval stone houses, perfectly preserved and subject to constant restoration.

Castell'Arquato is located on the first hill of Piacenza and serves as the gateway to the Arda Valley. The village was founded around the 7th century AD; the first written records date back to that period. During the Middle Ages, the village was often the scene of clashes between Guelphs and Ghibellines and the center of disputes between the Scotti and Visconti families. In the modern era, it passed from the Visconti to the Sforza family, whose rule lasted until the 18th century, when the village became part of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. The village has retained a typically medieval appearance with many places of great interest.