Bicycle trails

Verdi’s Places

Travelling time, amateur: 3 hours and 30 minutes

A route of low difficulty pdue to the small difference in altitude distributed over almost 100 km.

A journey through the Castles of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Pontremoli. The tour starts in the spa town (free car park in Viale del Lavoro is recommended) and heads up towards Tabiano, the “City of Breath”, then on to Fidenza and Soragna, with its 14th-century Rocca Meli Lupi, restored in the 17th century.

From here, proceed to the Rocca San Vitale di Fontanellato, surrounded by a moat and embellished by a room painted by Parmigianino in 1524. Take a short break and then continue towards San Secondo with the Rocca dei Rossi, a building later converted into a sumptuous residence.

The route continues pedalling along the roads of the “bassa parmense” (the Parma Lowlands) to Roccabianca and the castle built by the magnificent Pier Maria Rossi for his beloved Bianca Pellegrini in the mid-15th century. This is followed by a stop in the lands of Maestro Giuseppe Verdi: Sanboseto, Madonna Prati, Spigarolo and finally Busseto.

If you leave the route slightly, you can reach Roncole Verdi, a hamlet of Busseto that is home to Giuseppe Verdi’s birthplace. On the way there are two more valuable stops: the abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba, run by Cistercian monks, where between May and June the famous “Infiorata del Corpus Domini” takes place, during which a marvellous carpet of flowers is set up in the central nave of the basilica. On the way back to Scipione Castello, you will come across the castle of the Marquises Pallavicino, dating back to the 11th century. Return to Salsomaggiore Terme, passing through San Nicomede, where the road runs alongside the Stirone Regional Park.