Routes in Chero: Val Vezzeno

How many beautiful surprises reserve our province! This I say and I repeat every time "Routes piacentini" calls me to go to discover places of our territory, places that are very close to our home, but that, alas !, not conQuante nice surprises reserve our province!
This I say and I repeat every time "Routes piacentini" calls me to go to discover places of our territory, places that are very close to our home, but that, alas !, we never know enough ...
Maybe we remain attracted to distant destinations, which require hours drive, or even sometimes by plane, when here, a few minutes from our city, open views and an extraordinary rise of absolute beauty. "Here, the first time I arrived - debuted Francesco Falorni - I reviewed my Tuscany, in its rolling hills, in its atmosphere, in his views.
Francis is a distinguished gentleman who now took root from these part, after recovering a magnificent structure that today is the flagship of local hospitality and Piacenza in general.
It is Torre del Borgo, a period residence, located right in the heart of Val Vezzeno to Sariano Gropparello.
E 'him, or perhaps even more dynamic wife, to devote himself heart and soul to the enhancement of this strip of land near Piacenza, in a job that involved other operators sensitive and aware of the potential of this place.
It is so constituted, in the most natural and spontaneous, a team of people who aim to spread and make known the characteristics and peculiarities of a small valley that encompasses many opportunities for growth and development of tourism. Val Vezzeno stretches following the course of the river, which already runs a Celleri, place you come to a few hundred meters after leaving the provincial Carpaneto, to turn right towards Gropparello.
Right here in Celleri, along a strip of asphalt that winds up in the middle of meadows and racing on the right of the main directive, you visit to Marco Pizzocaro, owner of the farm Poggio Caminata where you can enjoy good food and typical Piacenza where to drink, talking nicely with Marco, a good coffee, for me strictly barley. Coming back down and continuing for Gropparello you stop at Villa Rosalba (see box), farm and winery that produces, according to the most traditional techniques, good quality wines.
For this here prefer to taste a glass of good sweet Malvasia. Close, continuing along the Val Vezzeno stands the Chiesuola, reached by turning right after leaving Villa Rosalba. It is an interesting religious building dedicated to Santa Maria della Neve.
Here we are right in the territory of the Nature Reserve Piacenziano, an area from environmental value, which we covered in a previous Vissi Travel (ed).
And so we come to Sariano, known for the company Gobbi (now changed hands), a manufacturer of boats exported all over the world. And here, passing Torre del Borgo, we arrive at the restaurant Camilla, which owes its success to the careful management and capable, entrusted to the experience of Pierluigi, for friends Bigio, worked well in the kitchen by Marco. Right in front of Camilla opens its windows to pass another institution of the place, La Bottega di Giselda.
Here's Fulvio who continues the family tradition in the production of excellent sausages and salami dop.
The road runs in the middle of the country to go where the Val Vezzeno guards its most precious treasure: Gropparello Castle, which thanks to a perfect work of recovery appears to be today one of the most visited ancient castles.
Its structure offers the best views along the road that leads to Gropparello through Castellana, with a detour to the left past the center of Sariano. It begins like to come up and turn following twists and turns, and then see the castle beyond low, beautiful and mysterious, under which flows the river Vezzeno.
The road leads into a forested surroundings interrupted by some small villages of a few houses.
The first tiny group of houses is Cà Gazzotti, then Loyola where stands a chapel at a dry curve going down and that leads to Bersani, a small village with a few stone houses, some half ruined. A few hundred meters to rejoin the main road leading to the right towards Gropparello.
However we decide to turn left, to make brief stop in Castellana, if only to admire the beautiful church that stands between earth and sky, impressive and well preserved. It reverses the course of the car to go back along the path established, but still a surprise is in "ambush": just before a sharp bend a large stone vertically on the right has guarded the pass, as it rises just beside the highway .
His name is "Piplon", his legend speaks of a devil so transformed, transfixed, as he had threatened a girl (depth in another tab).
By now we have come to Gropparello and here in the square, actually a widening uninviting and welcoming, we stop, however, to breathe this light and clean and refresh ourselves with a good green tea, at the bar that welcomes all its tables 'opened.
A quick visit to the parish church, but for a nice end of the day is a visit to the Castle, where Mrs. Maria Rita Trecci Gibelli, with refined politeness and grace accompanies us through the park and into the halls, in the context of a dream, magic, enchanting ...