The bed of the river is characterized by the presence of narrow meanders, drawn by the water between rocks of different nature, which constitute a unique landscape for its natural beauty. Val Trebbia is one of the most geologically interesting areas of the whole Italian territory because it is an exceptional reservoir of biodiversity in every stretch, walking from the hills above Bobbio descending towards the river it is possible to directly observe the various tectonic units that make up the famous “tectonic window” of Bobbio which is the largest in the Northern Apennines and allows us to observe many of the structural levels of this chain.
The historical aspect has the same relevance as the natural one, for the presence of the famous abbey of San Colombano in Bobbio, one of the most important medieval cultural centers in Europe, founded by the Irish monk in 614, and famous for its prestigious scriptorium, whose organization inspired the writer Umberto Eco in the drafting of his bestseller “The name of the rose” and for the Neolithic Village of Sant’Andrea a Travo, one of the main prehistoric settlements in northern Italy, where a dense network of residential and functional structures dating back to the fifth millennium BC have been found and visible today. To these is added an imposing belt of Castles, some belonging to the network of Castles of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza that dots it: Castle and Medieval Village of Rivalta, Rocca and Castle of Agazzano, Castle of Montechiaro, Malaspina-Dal Verme Castle of Bobbio.
The whole valley is then dotted with churches and sanctuaries of ancient construction and small villages characterized by stone houses and slate roofs.
The upper valley is part of the culturally homogeneous territory of the four provinces (Alessandria, Genoa, Pavia and Piacenza), characterized by common customs and traditions and an important repertoire of songs, music and dances very ancient animated by the piffero, the accordion and the müsa.
After all, Ernest Hemingway, who visited it during the Second World War following American troops, wrote in his diary “Today I crossed the most beautiful valley in the world”.
