travels, holidays and more…

There are plenty of mountains named “Monte Cavallo” all around Italy, so I want to clarify that the one I’m talking about in this post is nearby the town of “Porretta Terme”.

We started our trip a few km after the village of Castelluccio, as you can see from the pictures below those are still places very green and clean, with almost no pollution. The shelter on top of the mountain is one of the few buildings you can see in the whole valley!

a panoramic view of the mountain surroundings

We made that trip a few years ago, when the heat and humidity in Bologna was unbearable. We took the car and after around 1h of driving we reached Porretta, then Castelluccio and finally we left the car to take a walk up to the top of the mountain. The path isn’t particularly hard or difficult, even if you aren’t used to walk in the mountains.

and here it is, the shelter on the top of “Monte Cavallo”

When we were almost arrived it started to rain, the classic summer thunderstorm that comes all of a suddenly, so we had to run to reach the shelter on the top. When we finally saw it in the middle of the wood, we were relieved!

We spent several minutes under the shelter’s roof, watching the rain falling all around us. It was awesome, fascinating. It was both relaxing but at same time intimidating, showing the true nature’s wrath!

Then after around 30 minutes the thunderstorm was over, and we came back to our car, with still the memory of those beautiful places in our mind.

Bardi’s fortress is a magnificent citadel set on the top of a red diasper rock, and from it you have a wonderful panorama of the Ceno Valley.

The castle’s age is around 869 d.c. and in the following centuries it became first a feud of Landi from Piacenza, then was occupied by Farnese family and lastly, went under “Ducato di Parma” domain.

It was built through several steps, and often renovated, the fortress is one of the best examples of medieval citadel that remains in good conditions even nowadays.

It surely will be fascinating to visit it, walk along the high walls or in the tall towers, or even visit some wicked places like the Torture Chamber where you can admire still the executioner’s axe!

But there’s more: the Castle of Bardi is rumoured to being haunted by a ghost, that seems to have appeared several times during the recent history. The legend says that it must be the ghost of Moroello, a man who died violently and who was in love with Soleste, the young daughter of the Castle Lord.

So as you can see is an old castle rich of fascinating history, as witnesses the recent discovery: an old parchment that speaks about a hidden treasure inside the castle…

Even the surrounding of Bardi are full of interesting places to visit. From the local flora and fauna, with wonderful naturalistic scenery, to more mystery and adventure if you decide to visit old abandoned towns like Lavacchielli, Caneto, Agneto, Ca’ Scapini.

A few km away from Parma, the Torrechiara castle’s lies on the top of a “small” hill. Surrounded by vineyards, it offers the visitors a wonderful panoramic view of the landscape. You can already spot it from distance, from the road that leads to its feet, and suddenly you feel immersed in a magic atmosphere.

Built by Pier Maria Rossi between the 1148 and 1460, with the purpose of building both a citadel and a luxurious residence, managing to accomplish both goals. It is considered the best and most visited castle of the whole Parma’s region. Those characteristics made it a perfect location for the movie “Lady Hawke”by Richard Donner.

Inside there aren’t many furnitures, mostly decorated walls/rooms, the most famous of them is the “Golden Chamber” rebuild in 1911 by Amedeo Bocchi e Daniele De Strobel. If you want to rest there during the night, you can rent a room in the “Locanda del Castello”, opened all year, which is just inside the castle walls. If instead you’re looking for a great restaurant, we recommend “Antico Mulino”, just below the castle entrance, where you can find delicious dishes!

view of the castle from below, really majestic!

the castle entrance