{"id":9980,"date":"2024-05-31T11:00:30","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/termedimonticelli.it\/the-way-of-matilda\/"},"modified":"2024-07-22T13:27:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T13:27:00","slug":"the-way-of-matilda","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/termedimonticelli.it\/en\/itineraries\/the-way-of-matilda\/","title":{"rendered":"The way of Matilda"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The way of Matilda<\/b><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Nature, ancient stones and gourmet products. <\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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by Silvia Ugolotti<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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She is one of the most influential figures of the Middle Ages, courageous and strong-willed: the great countess Matilda of Canossa<\/strong> ruled a fiefdom that stretched from Lombardy to Tuscany, to the borders of the Papal States.
\nA 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.
\nMany 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.
\nIt 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. <\/p>\n

At Mathilde’s house<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bianello Castle<\/strong> is the first to be encountered.
\nBuilt on a balcony the view sweeps as far as the Alps.
\nHere, where Matilda used to reside, Henry V stopped in 1111 on his way back from Rome.
\nInside the apartments are well-preserved 17th-century frescoes by Bolognese painters Gian Giacomo Monti and Baldassarre Bianchi.
\nAt its foot, TheOasis of Bianello<\/strong>, stretches over the four Castelli hills (Zane, Lucio, Vetro, Bianello) for about 190 hectares.
\nIt 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.
\nA few kilometers away, in Bibbiano<\/strong>, there is the Latteria Sociale Moderna<\/strong>(latteriasocialemoderna.it<\/a>), where a Parmigiano Reggiano<\/strong> is produced that was awarded the title “Italy’s best cheese” in the Grolla d’Oro competition: taste, seasoning and texture are perfectly balanced.
\nWith 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.
\nNot 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. <\/p>\n

Towers, fortresses and little Tibet<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The next stop on the itinerary leads to Rossena<\/strong>, built in 960 by Count Adalbert Atto, Matilda’s great-grandfather.
\nIt stands on a reddish-colored cliff.
\nWell preserved, it is accessed after a short climb through a stone arch.
\nA small staircase leads to the fort consisting of the central core of the inner tower and 21 rooms arranged on several levels.
\nFrom its windows one overlooks the beautiful hilly landscapes and the nearby Rossenella<\/strong>, a quadrangular watchtower that can be reached by a path suitable for everyone.
\nAt the entrance to the Rupe di Campoterra reserve, below the Rossenella tower, Il Melograno di Matilde<\/strong> (Localit\u00e0 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<\/strong> be glimpsed.
\nAlthough only the ruins remain, it is worth a stop.
\nThe setting is as fascinating as the story it tells.
\nOn 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<\/strong>(valicotermius.com<\/a>) to produce sauces, compotes and jams.
\nThe 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.
\nFrom here it is worth a detour to Votigno<\/strong>, a small hamlet that was a refuge for Matilda’s troops, then a village of farmers and artisans.
\nCarefully 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.
\nIt houses The House of Tibet, a Buddhist cultural center and the Tibet Museum opened by the Dalai Lama in 1999.
\nIt houses rare objects of Tibetan culture along with photographs by Fosco Maraini(casadeltibet.it<\/a>) <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Rocks and ridges<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We depart for Sarzano, an elegant and well-maintained castle.
\nAn important defensive outpost because of its strategic location on the road to the passes with Tuscany, it is among the most elegant fortresses.
\nMoving toward Tuscany is Marola<\/strong>, a small town nestled in a centuries-old chestnut grove where it is possible to visit ancient metati.
\nThere is also an abbey, commissioned by Matilda, which preserves in its columns the floral or geometric ornaments characteristic of the Canusian arete.
\nThe agritourism Il Castello di Marola<\/strong>(ilcastellodimarolaagriturismo.it<\/a>) is here, producing jams, marmalades, zeffarano.
\nExcellent products to buy or enjoy at the tables of the restaurant, with its simple but genuine cuisine.
\nBack on the drive, one encounters the Castle of Carpineti<\/strong>, the last on the tour.
\nIt stands on one of the rocky spurs of the ridge of Mount Antognano.
\nAfter Matilda’s death, her fiefdom disintegrated and Carpineti also underwent numerous changes of ownership and transformations. <\/p>\n

Backpacking<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For those with good legs, the Via Matildica del Volto Santo(viamatildica.it<\/a>), or Sentiero Matilde, retraces the places of the Countess, along a 285-kilometer route that crosses in 11 stages 3 Italian regions: Lombardy, Emilia, Tuscany.
\nBut that’s not all.
\nOn Mount Fasola not far from Carpineti, then in Castellarano, Baiso and Ligonchio are the Giant Benches, better known as Big<\/strong> Benches, a project of car designer Chris Bangle<\/strong>(bigbenchcommunityproject.org<\/a>).
\nThe benches, placed in the most scenic places in Italy, aim to change the perspective and gaze of those who sit down.
\nReaching them means immersing oneself in nature among the hills and ridges in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines Unesco MaB Reserve.
\nAt the Panchina del Monte Fosola, for example, you get there with a 30-minute walk along a cart road from Felina: 360-degree views. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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