Val Tidone, the most western of the Piacenza valleys, is a beautiful area, suitable for wine, good food and nature
Filarole is located on the hills of Pianello Val Tidone, on the panoramic road that dominates the valley of the river Tidone and leads to the nearby castle of Rocca d’Olgisio.
We are in northern Italy on the western border of the province of Piacenza, where Emilia Romagna touches the Oltrepo ‘Pavese. We are a few kilometers from Milan, the former state highway 412 of Val Tidone connects the Lombard capital with these hills in an hour’s drive and then continues towards Mount Penice, the fulcrum of the Four Provinces (Quattro Province).
Val Tidone is well known to holiday makers for the tranquility enjoyed here, for the good food and the wine produced here historically. In addition to the numerous paths that cross the woods connecting the villages and small groups of houses, paths that were once the main link between a farmhouse and the other between a family and the other, in Val Tidone you can enjoy some interesting tourist and cultural activities.
Rocca d’Olgisio, the castle of Val Tidone
Rocca d’Olgisio is the closest castle to us, perched on a rocky outcrop between Tidone river and Chiarone torrent, it is an architectural complex that harmoniously combines the characteristics of the defensive structure and the noble residence. The castle opens for guided tours from March to October on holidays and pre-holidays, but in every moment of the year its presence enriches the landscape, standing out along the profile of the hill.
Castle and Fortress of Agazzano in Val Luretta
A few kilometers from us in Val Luretta you can visit the fortress and the castle of Agazzano. The medieval fortress is accessible through a ravelin, overlooking a courtyard of great charm from which with two opposite flights of stairs leads to the loggia. Surrounded by a garden built on the ancient moat, it has a rectangular plan with round towers, as tall as the curtain walls. The adjacent castle, converted at the end of ‘700 in a quiet noble residence, is furnished with antique furniture and houses elegant frescoes. It is possible to access for guided tours.
Archaeological Museum of Val Tidone
The Archaeological Museum of Val Tidone (Piazza Umberto 1° – Pianello): collects the material of historical interest found in the basin of Val Tidone and offers a picture of the history and dynamics of the ancient population of the area, from prehistory to Roman times. There are fossils, which illustrate the phases of formation of the Po Valley, findings that document the human presence in Val Tidone in prehistoric and protohistoric times (from the 5th millennium BC to the 2nd / 1st century BC). Worth noting are the findings of the Piana di San Martino, mainly ceramic artefacts, which testify to the life of a settlement developed in particular during the first millennium BC.
The Piana di San Martino
Yes, we also have an archaeological site a few steps from the Filarole, on the ridge that divides the two valleys formed by the Chiarone and Rio Tinello streams in the municipality of Pianello Val Tidone. The path that leads you is very impressive and not too difficult to go. The excavations, conducted by the local Pandora Archaeological Association under the supervision of the Superintendence for the Archaeological Heritage of Emilia-Romagna, have brought to light a complex settlement with an inhabited center that developed in the Late Antiquity and maintained in the Middle Ages, which remains the remains of houses, a church and a defense tower. The most ancient traces of frequentation of the site refer to the protohistoric era: spindle, spools and loom weights for spinning and weaving activities and fragments of milk-working colander and testify to the existence of a settlement of farmers and shepherds. The ceramic fragments for the variety of shapes and decorations offer a chronological framework from the middle Bronze Age to the third Iron Age, from the 16th to the 2nd century BC
Villages and other points of interest
Nibbiano and Caminata: continuing along the state road 412 towards Mount Penice you will find these two villages from the historical center still very well preserved. Pleasant to walk through the streets (cool even in summer) and stop for a coffee in the squares.
Molato Dam: completed in 1928 the grandiose arch with multiple arches and spurs, entirely in reinforced concrete, is 55 meters high on the foundation and 180 meters long on the front and 322 meters including the side structures. It gave birth to the artificial basin known as Trebecco Lake.