Today we planned a route among several of the villages in the area that are part of the "Most Beautiful Villages in Italy" group, and that kept us pretty much off the beaten track.
First up was nearby Fontanellato, a sleepy little town centered on a 15th century moated castle, or rocca, which was the fortified home of a local family until 1951! It's now a museum owned by the city. I couldn't help think that the women meeting for coffee in the piazza in front of the rocca have a much more interesting view than my friends do when we meet at Starbucks or Einsteins!
Vigoleno was next up, and I do mean up, as after a couple of days of flat terrain, we found ourselves once again among rolling hills. The scenery was gorgeous -- lots of verdant fields and woods dotted by warmly-hued farms, small towns and villas. Vigoleno, with its fishtail-crenellated tower and walls, holds a commanding place at the top of a high hill, which we climbed (drove) via a gently switchbacking road. We were entranced by this walled town of few narrow streets and more charm than its walls could contain. The fact that, for the most part, we had the place to ourselves, reinforced the feeling that we were wandering around a too-perfect-to-be-real movie set. The only piazza sat at the foot of the defensive tower, a gently flowing fountain in the center of the cobblestoned space, surrounded by a church on one side, an inn on another; a home bedecked in climbing roses completed the tableau.
We wandered around and found another church, a small dark space, with remnants of frescoes on its walls, pillars, and in the sanctuary. Here, as in every church we have visited -- large and small, ornate or stark -- the banner of the Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis was prominently displayed, just as it is at home -- a visible symbol of the universal church and, hopefully, a important movement in that church. We continued to walk around the small town, taking in the views from the exterior walls, until we found ourselves back in the piazza. No matter what comes next, Vigoleno wins the day -- and is in contention for Best-of-Trip!
We tore ourselves away, back down the hill, and on to Castell'Arquato, where we walked up through the town to its hilltop rocca and belvedere overlooking the countryside below. This was a bigger, more real-world place, but it wouldn't have made my "most beautiful" list -- and not simply because it had the misfortune to come after Vigoleno on today's itinerary!
Last stop was Bobbio, back at a lower elevation in the Trebbia River valley. An Irish missionary, St. Columban, founded an Abbey in Bobbio in the 7th century, and the town became a center of religious and cultural life, with a library, basilica, and scriptorium. Our first view inside the church of St. Columban was a bit startling, as it's a large space, dominated by blue and white colors and columns painted with faux fluting. It seemed a little like the sheaths that cover scaffolding on famous buildings undergoing restoration; what's depicted on the surface is what's been covered up underneath. We roamed a few streets and then drove a bit higher on the hill to the fort (rocca), which had just closed for the day. We stopped at river level to see the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) ,with its eleven unequal arches; it dates from at least the 12th century and possibly to Roman times.
One more thing of note: on our drive back to Parma, we were on a ring road that was transitioning from a four-lane divided highway to a two-lane road, when -- in our lane-- appeared a wrong-way driver! It seemed as if every car, driver and passenger going in our direction just gulped, held their collective breath, squeezed wherever they could, and drove on. Incredibly, no horns were blasted (too much else to attend to?!?), and we heard no crash as we moved on. Amazing grace...
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