サンダミアーノアルコッレのおすすめツーリングルート

This very low-traffic stretch of the Pizzofreddo municipal road runs along a very scenic ridge.

The Rocca di Pianello Val Tidone is an imposing medieval fortress dating back to the 13th century. Built for defensive purposes, the fortress dominates the village with its massive walls and strategic position. Today it houses the Archaeological Museum of Val Tidone, which preserves prehistoric, Roman and medieval finds, offering an overview of local history.

This stretch of the road connecting the hamlets of Torrone and Pizzofreddo is very scenic, as it runs along a ridge offering open views of the Versa Valley on one side and the Tidone Valley on the other.

In this stretch the road runs along a ridge from which there is an open view of the vineyards on both sides, with several lines of mountains that follow one another towards the horizon.

In autumn the vineyards take on warm colors, with all the shades of color from dark green, to yellow and red. In the background you can see San Damiano al Colle on the right and Costa Montefedele on the left.

Via Lazzaretto, 22A, 27040 Rovescala PV

The Rocca di Pianello is believed to have been built towards the end of the fourteenth century, perhaps adapting a pre-existing 10th century fortress, destroyed by Federico Barbarossa in 1164. The reconstruction probably took place following the Visconti investiture of Jacopo Dal Verme in 1378. The irregular plan of the The building is perhaps due to the need to place a late medieval extension to the only tower of which we traditionally have memory. The owners made important changes in the 17th century, transforming it into a private home; today the building houses the Municipality of Pianello and the Archaeological Museum of Val Tidone, which houses the fundamental evidence that emerged from excavations in the area.

The exact dating of the current fortress is not known, but it is known that the original castle was destroyed in the 12th century by the armed forces of Federico Barbarossa, and that then, in 1241, King Enzo dismantled the walls after having overwhelmed the Guelph garrison . The castle, of modest dimensions, has an irregular, trapezoidal plan, with the main front facing east and constitutes a singular example of a monobloc building for the Piacenza area. At the end of the shorter side, there is the tower with a sloped base, higher and probably older than the castle, where the location of the missing drawbridge is visible. The wall structure, made up of stone in the lower area and bricks in the upper area, does not necessarily imply two different construction times