The small capitals of the Po River

Route analysis

Route: Luzzara - Guastalla - Gualtieri - Boretto - Brescello
Time: 1:22 h
Length: 20,73 km
Best time: spring through autumn

DESCRIption

This route is based upon the long-distance trails Eurovelo 8, Po Cycling Path and VenTo Cycling Trail (Venice-Turin), and it has been developed following the Po river course: this trail crosses the floodplains, connecting the five Municipalities on the river banks. From the trail it is possible to reach the town centres, admiring some stunning natural and historical places, without even get off from the bike! We can also see the "lidi" (the strands and beaches along the river, nowadays used as summer nightlife establishments), the Enza river ending into the Po river, the touristic port of Boretto, and so much more!

1st stage: Boretto

Near the main embankment of the Po river, lies the town centre of Boretto. This "comune" is the most known when it comes to mentions the Po river here in Reggio Emilia. We can find the majestic Saint Mark Basilica, the most noticeable landmark that here Venetians used to trade and reside. Remembering this major moment in history, we can also notice the pillar with St. Mark's Lion, the most distinguishable trait of the Venetian Conquest. Slowly passing above the embankment, we can discover the ancient local tradition of fluvial shipbuilding, visiting the three local museums:

• Museo del Po e della navigazione interna - PO432, hosting several boats and navigation materials;
• Casa dei Pontieri, created inside lateral structures of the pontoon bridge;
• Museo multimediale della bonifica dell’Emilia Centrale, located into the historical water management building, where we can discover the vital importance that water reclamation and management meant for these lands.

2nd stage - Brescello

Fancy discover folklore characters? Here in Brescello you can live into a cinema set, that of Don Camillo and Peppone! Pick up your bike and get in Brescello via the cycling path on the Po embankment. Strolling around this town, we can see the Don Camillo Church, the "speaking" crucifix, the Sputnik bell, the Peppone's house, and you can discover more inside the two public museums, one dedicated to the legacy of these characters, and the other one dedicated to Giovannino Guareschi (the writer that created the two characters inside his books), the territory and the impact that cinema gave on this town. Historically speaking, Brescello had a Roman past and an impressive importance throughout history, that you can discover inside the Roman Archeological Museum, with findings of the ancient Brixellum.

3rd stage - Gualtieri

Flanking the Great River, after a 40-min ride, we arrive in Gualtieri, beautiful example of little Capital of Northern Italy's Renaissance. The town follows the legacy of the Bentivoglio Family, that across two centuries in 1500 and 1600 built the main palace and the water reclamation in the surrounding marshes. North of the town, we can find the cycling path that borders the floodplain. Taking this road, we reach the place where once was the town port. Keeping this road we arrive in one of the most hidden naturalistic gem of the Pianura Padana: the Isola degli Internati (the Interned Island). This place, now a biodiversity oasis, has its name from a group of people that in 1945 had this piece of land. Those people were former prisoners during Second World War, and by giving this land, they were granted a job and a stable income by selling the wood of trees growing here. Between the Island and the port we can see some old and new pile dwellings, that in summer are lived by young people and animated by amazing events at the sunset.

Walking on the Interned Island during the dry season of Po River, we can find three shipwrecks that were bombed and sunk during a vicious fire attack in Second World War. In this misty landscape, among fog, poplars, and marshes, lived for a long time Antonio Ligabue, the painter and sculptor that here found refuge during his deep and tormented crises and was rejected by the Gualtieri community. If you want to discover more about this artist, you can find an impressive collection of Ligabue's works inside Palazzo Bentivoglio, and also inside his house, where he used to live, in Via Giardino.

4th stage - Guastalla

Going back on the Po River strand, we follow the cycling path until Guastalla, where we can admire the large floodplain, with its biodiversity, with amphibians, small predators such as wild cats, foxes, birds of prey, hedgehogs and water birds. Here, there are many ecological zones, such as Isola del Peccato (Sin Island), i Saliceti Allagati (the Flooded Willows) and the mouth of Crostolo River inside the Po river. Following Via Lido Po, we can reach the town centre of Guastalla and visit the beautiful Palazzo Ducale, home of a branch of Gonzaga Family and many more places that represented the noble power on these counties.

5th stage - Luzzara

We end this route in the last town of the Reggio Emilia Plain before the Province of Mantua. This town is Luzzara, hometown of Cesare Zavattini: screenwriter, journalist, writer, poet, painter and ineluctable character for Italian Neorealist cinema. Together with Paul Strand, he created the photography book "Un Paese - A Town", dedicated entirely to the ending rural community of Luzzara, at the end of the Sixties. At the centre of the town we can find the Civic Tower, with an estimated height of 55 meters (said to be the tallest tower in the Reggio Emilia Plain, beating the Bell Tower of Novellara), also with the beautiful St. George's Church in Romanic style. Nearby, in the hamlet of Villarotta, we can find the Museo del Truciolo, that created straw hats for centuries. Into the floodplains we can surely admire the local biodiversity and have a taste of adrenaline, with River Park: a tree-climbing park with activities for all people, from kids-friendly to high-adrenaline moments.

Itinerary stages

practical INFORMAtION

Tourist office: IAT Guastalla - (+39) 0522 839763.

Bicycle Rent: 

• Guastalla, Locanda dei Pontieri, Viale Po 11/13
• Boretto, River Passion, Via Argine 17
• Gualtieri, Pro Loco, Piazza Bentivoglio.

Before starting, download the free app "Terre di Po in Bici": you can find the updated route and the map also available offline.