PATHS

After going through Salsomaggiore, we ride along the Salsominore hollow, where we find the remains of the Roman Baths. With its castle, the village of Scipione watches over the hills of the Stirone and Piacenziano Parks. Pedaling towards Vigoleno, after the first vineyards we encounter the small rural aggregate of Case Passeri, where in summer a bizarre gathering of scarecrows takes place. On the climb that leads to the village of Vigoleno, one of the Castles of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza and of the most beautiful villages in Italy, we change gear, and finally we close the loop while biking alongside the medieval Castle of Contignaco, at an elevation of 1,040 feet.

Distance

28 miles

Path

on or off-road, hilly, elevation 3,600 feet

Difficulty

medium

road, gravel, mtb, pedal assisted

From Tabiano, once in Fidenza we find ourselves surrounded by farmlands and the river banks of the Stirone. The view of Rocca di Soragna, in 1300 a castle with a moat and defensive walls inhabited by the Meli Lupi family and now the cradle of Parmigiano Reggiano, pleasantly breaks into the rural and placid atmosphere of the Bassa. The cycle path of the Terre Verdiane starts here and – sometimes off path – it connects Busseto to Roncole, where Giuseppe Verdi’s birth house and the Parish with the organ on which he learned to play can be found. From Busseto, home of the Giuseppe Verdi Theater, the Casa Barezzi Museum and the Giuseppe Verdi National Museum, we return to Tabiano through secondary roads that you will surely find extremely enjoyable.

37 miles

mixed (asphalt and easy dirt roads), level, 

no difference in height  

low

touring, gravel, mtb

From Tabiano, passing through Salsomaggiore and the protected natural area of the Stirone Park, we cycle towards Castelnuovo Fogliani until we reach, in open countryside, the Chiaravalle della Colomba Abbey, founded in 1136 according to the Cistercian rule. This is an area of springs, crops and farms built according to the dictates of spontaneous architecture, and this segment of the Bassa is crossed by the historic Via Francigena, which is normally well indicated. On the way back to Fidenza, the unfinished Romanesque façade of the Duomo di Fidenza is well worth a visit.

31 miles

Duration

about 5 hours, with stops and a snack

Route

mixed (asphalt / dirt roads), hilly

600 meters (1,970 feet)

medium-low