The valley of the Arda stream is the easternmost of the Piacenza area. The Arda is born on the high Apennines in the municipality of Morfasso, forms the artificial lake of Mignano, laps Lugagnano Val d’Arda and Castell’Arquato and then flows into the plain and flows into the Po.
The Val D’Arda was in the Middle Ages one of the routes connected to the Via Francigena, which, going up the course of the stream to Morfasso, then continued to Pontremoli to rejoin the main path to Rome. Closed to the south by an imposing amphitheater of mountains, which over time has made connections difficult, but has favored the preservation of the natural environment, the valley today presents uncontaminated environmental scenarios.
A landscape full of suggestive views, from river scenery to the woods to geological evidence, and traces of history, from the archaeological site of Roman Veleja, from the villages to the castles, to the signs left by pilgrims who climbed from the parish church of Vernasca towards the abbey of Valtolla, now lost.
With trekking pole, bicycle, mountain bike, horse… with any means of slow transport the paths to be traveled between ancient hills, gullies, fossiliferous outcrops of the Piacenziano period, vineyard crops, woods, will bring back to contact with nature and to the discovery of balance and well-being.
The perfectly preserved medieval villages of Castell’Arquato and Vigoleno will be a perfect destination after a walk in the countryside and the rich museum offer will surprise the most curious. In Castell’Arquato you can visit, in addition to the Rocca Viscontea, the Museum of the Collegiata, the Geological Museum G. Cortesi and the Illica Museum; in Vigoleno, in addition to the keep and the main floor of the castle, the Museum of the Bears, migrants of the late nineteenth century who sought their fortune in Europe as wanderers of bear trainers.
Between one discovery and another, it will be impossible not to stop and taste the typical food and wine products of Piacenza: a good glass of wine from the Colli Piacentini accompanied by excellent cold cuts (coppa, bacon, salami) and tasty traditional first courses: anolini in broth, tortelli, pisarei and fasò.
