She is one of the most influential figures of the Middle Ages, courageous and strong-willed: the great countess Matilda of Canossa ruled a fiefdom that stretched from Lombardy to Tuscany, to the borders of the Papal States.
A warrior, stateswoman, also sung by Dante in the Divine Comedy, she went down in history for mediating one of the most bitter phases of the struggle over investitures.
Many of the castles and towers that served to protect her domains are scattered throughout the province of Reggio Emilia, among hills, gullies and valleys, still perfect architectural examples of defensive strategy.
It is possible to appreciate their strategic value in a journey that takes you from the cultivated plain to the Apennines, penetrating river landscapes such as those of the Enza Valley or plunging into the oak and chestnut woods that cover the first Reggio hills.
Starting from Monticelli Terme in an hour and a half’s drive and 60 kilometers, you can complete the entire circuit of the Matildic castles, five in all: from Bianello to Rossena, the best preserved, to the ruins of Canossa, then Carpineti and Sarzano.

At Mathilde’s house

Bianello Castle is the first to be encountered.
Built on a balcony the view sweeps as far as the Alps.
Here, where Matilda used to reside, Henry V stopped in 1111 on his way back from Rome.
Inside the apartments are well-preserved 17th-century frescoes by Bolognese painters Gian Giacomo Monti and Baldassarre Bianchi.
At its foot, TheOasis of Bianello, stretches over the four Castelli hills (Zane, Lucio, Vetro, Bianello) for about 190 hectares.
It is an environment of the lower Emilian Apennines, with altitudes around 300 meters, made up of woods, small grasslands, scrublands and more than 130 species of birds: a birdwatcher’s paradise.
A few kilometers away, in Bibbiano, there is the Latteria Sociale Moderna(latteriasocialemoderna.it), where a Parmigiano Reggiano is produced that was awarded the title “Italy’s best cheese” in the Grolla d’Oro competition: taste, seasoning and texture are perfectly balanced.
With six valuable historical dairies, Bibbiano (which with Campegine contends for the historical record of oldest production) is on the podium of the common producers of Parmigiano Reggiano DOP.
Not surprisingly, a huge marble cheese point, signed by sculptor Michelangelo Galliani, stands in the traffic circle at the entrance to the town to welcome those arriving.

Towers, fortresses and little Tibet

The next stop on the itinerary leads to Rossena, built in 960 by Count Adalbert Atto, Matilda’s great-grandfather.
It stands on a reddish-colored cliff.
Well preserved, it is accessed after a short climb through a stone arch.
A small staircase leads to the fort consisting of the central core of the inner tower and 21 rooms arranged on several levels.
From its windows one overlooks the beautiful hilly landscapes and the nearby Rossenella, a quadrangular watchtower that can be reached by a path suitable for everyone.
At the entrance to the Rupe di Campoterra reserve, below the Rossenella tower, Il Melograno di Matilde (Località Rossena, 8) is the perfect stopping point for an aperitif in the garden, waiting for the sun to go down.
A few kilometers later, the silhouette of the Castello di Canossa can be glimpsed.
Although only the ruins remain, it is worth a stop.
The setting is as fascinating as the story it tells.
On Jan. 27, 1077, Emperor Henry IV, stood for three days kneeling in front of the gate to receive the lifting of his excommunication from Pope Gregory VII.
Not far away, Giovanni Cervi and Nila Shabnam, art curators, created the agricultural company Valico Terminus(valicotermius.com) to produce sauces, compotes and jams.
The gem is the Ventasso mustard, the result of an ancient recipe: the mustard seeds and leaves come from the company’s cultivation of fields in the Apennines.
From here it is worth a detour to Votigno, a small hamlet that was a refuge for Matilda’s troops, then a village of farmers and artisans.
Carefully restored in the 1960s by volunteer artisans, it is now a small work of art with stone houses and an original checkerboard square in the center.
It houses The House of Tibet, a Buddhist cultural center and the Tibet Museum opened by the Dalai Lama in 1999.
It houses rare objects of Tibetan culture along with photographs by Fosco Maraini(casadeltibet.it)