Lands near the Po River in Reggio, little capitals along the big river

Brescello was the location of the famous movies about “Don Camillo and Peppone”, typical characters based on Guareschi's famous books, which you can also find in the local museum.
Boretto is one of the best equipped river ports for pleasure craft, while Guastalla still has its features of a capital town, remnants of its time under Gonzaga domination.

There is also Gualtieri with its magnificent square and its Museum dedicated to the great naïf painter Antonio Ligabue, and Luzzara, with its Naïve Art National Museum dedicated to the local artist Zavattini and the typical “Po” feeling, among white poplars, floodplains, scrubland and many small ponds.

In this part of its winding course, the slowness of the Big River characterizes the people and places, channels, islands, accumulations of sand and croplands, irrigated since antiquity; and all of these receive the fertile gift of its water.

Although man’s progress has modified the territory into valleys and floodplains, it has also restored precious habitats and created parks to safeguard nature, places that can be enjoyed by nature lovers.

This land is constantly changing, and after every flood some part of it disappears: a path, ruins of a building, part of the woods; and at the same time something reappears: an old craft, the remains of a car, an ancient trunk.

The best way to relish this fascinating landscape and see the little capitals in the distance from the Big River is to embark on the Padus Motorboat in the port of Boretto, the best equipped and most characteristic of Emilia Romagna, from Piacenza to Ferrara. Departure is from the San Marco jetty at Lido Po at 3.30 p.m. every Sunday from April to September.

For cycling lovers, it is possible to load your bike on the boat, get off in Guastalla, and go back to Boretto along the 11 kilometres of cycle path on the right riverside, enjoying wonderful landscapes and views of the Po River, among woods and groves.

This cycle path starts in Brescello, goes through the towns of Boretto, Gualtieri, Guastalla and then winds into flatlands among town, with their own specific traditions, and incomparable food.

During sultry summer nights, lazier people can have fun on the Stradivari Motorboat; it is docked in the port of Boretto, and at its restaurant it is possible to choose from among the many excellent typical dishe.