Trail No. 2 - The Tresinaro river and the big Oak

Information

42019 Scandiano

Route characteristics

Travelling time: 4 hours
Difference in height: starting and arrival point: 110 m; maximum altitude: 380 m  
Vegetation: stretches of mixed hedges and juniper shrubs in the dry xerophilous clearings, rare Scotch pine trees, sparse pubescent oak woods, blackthorn, dogwood, maple, and hornbeam
Fauna: birds of prey, small mammals, hares, pheasants and partridges (introduced for restocking)
Historical-cultural highlights: examples of rural architecture

Starting point: old lime kiln in Cà de Caroli

Route description

To get to the starting point of the trail, take Via Tresinaro just after the bridge in Cà de Caroli. Drive past the remains of the old lime, cement, and gypsum kiln – a very interesting feature from the point of view of industrial archaeology – and park your car.
Follow the asphalt road on the left marked “strada privata” (private road) uphill for approximately 200 m and take the path (not very clearly marked) on the right leading to a meadow which has orchid blossoms in spring. Continue walking uphill in the direction of a nearby house and take the path on the left recognisable by an old barrier. Turning left where the path forks, and walking between two hedges of hawthorn, blackthorn, blackberry, rosehips, dogwood and Spanish broom leads to more thickets. After passing a small fishing lake on the left, the path rises steeply among interesting gypsum outcrops. Monte Gesso (Gypsum Mountain) – a rugged rock at the top of which once stood a Medieval castle destroyed in 1340 – is a fascinating natural and geological environment.
Once the vegetation clears, opening up the view of a valley with erosions and furrows, the main path lined with blackberry bushes, goes off to the right. You nevertheless continue walking straight on, following a somewhat indistinct uphill track of clayey ground that leads to a scenic viewing point from which you can see the small village of Monte del Gesso on your left, and Scandiano and the plain in the distance.
Finally, on crossing a meadow, you come out on trail number 3, which you follow south (to the right) among pubescent oak woods in a dry (xerophilous) habitat, until you reach the chapel dedicated to the Madonna of Fatima (1 hour and 10 minutes from the starting point). You are now on the main watershed, with a view of both the plain and the Apennines. Keep going right on the dirt track to reach the rural village of Bottegaro. Past Bottegaro and the broken-down buildings just after, you continue walking among outcrops of flaky clay ground with pubescent oaks and juniper shrubs, with a view of the fumarola pools of Pianderna. In the sweeping grassy meadow, there are several different species of spring flowering orchids, as well as globularia and Spanish broom. Continuing along this path, you reach a hilltop (altitude 380 m) with a brick turret. You then proceed downhill to the small village of Monte di Sopra, consisting of two broken-down buildings, a tank and, most importantly, an impressive oak, over a century old, considered to be one of the greatest trees in the Emilia Romagna region and protected by regional law. The dirt track continues downhill, past the hamlet of Monte di Sotto, then becomes a small dirt road which takes you through a scenic view of the Tresinaro river valley, a fumarola pool, and finally, reaches the village of Cà de Rossi (1hour and 10 minutes from the Chapel of the Madonna of Fatima). From here, following the dirt road to the right, you begin the second part of this trail along the riverbed of the Tresinaro river and eventually return to the starting point. The vegetation here changes and includes willow-groves, white poplars and reeds (cattails, rushes, and purple loosestrife) which have colonised the riverbed and riverbanks of the Tresinaro. Past the farmhouse buildings of Casone and Cà de’ Sforacchi, the dirt road becomes a footpath, goes under the footbridge and approaches the Tresinaro riverbanks, then passes by a landslip which goes down to the riverbed. You proceed along the edges of the river above a vineyard, up to the village of Bettole. The trail continues past the view of a gypsum outcrop (which is part of the same vein seen previously at Monte del Gesso) and clayey furrows, and emerges on the asphalt road opposite a house. After 300 m on this road, you are back to the starting point of the trail (1hour and 40 minutes from Cà de Rossi).