ゼルボのおすすめツーリングルート

ブドウ畑の展望ポイント。

ボルゴノーヴォ・ヴァル・ティドーネ（コラーノ/地域地区のフラツィオーネ）にあるサン・マルティーノ・ヴェスコヴォ教会は、おそらく中世初期に起源を持つ、人里離れた景色の良い場所にある古代の礼拝堂です。現在の構造は、14世紀に遡る記録文書や16世紀の鐘楼があり、歴史的な層状構造を物語っています。

The patronage of this shrine, dedicated to the Madonna, refers to the town of Loreto. This is one of the great and important Marian pilgrimage sites in Europe, along with Lourdes in the French Pyrenees and Fatima in Portugal. Unlike the other two places mentioned, however, Loreto is not known for apparitions of the Mother of God. Here, pilgrims can find something very tangible: Mary's childhood home in Nazareth (Israel). Her parents—not mentioned by name in the biblical writings of the New Testament—are mentioned in apocryphal traditions: Saint Anne and Saint Joachim are thus the grandparents of Jesus Christ (their common feast day in the calendar of saints is July 26). Crusaders likely dismantled the venerated building in Nazareth and brought it to Europe when the era of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land came to an end towards the end of the 13th century. But this very sober assumption is countered by a much more interesting legend: According to this, four angels carried out the translation and flew the house over the Mediterranean.

A story by Giovanni Guareschi – the literary "father" of "Don Camillo and Peppone" – ends with the sentence "Things happen there, in this strange region... where people think more with their clubs than with their brains, but where at least they respect the dead." To understand it, one must recall the political situation in Italy at that time, immediately after the end of World War II: The monarchy had been abolished, the royal family was in exile, and the communists were partially in power (as was the case in Don Camillo's village). In the story "The Old Teacher," the woman who had taught generations of villagers their ABCs has died. She had expressed her last wish to Mayor Peppone and Don Camillo that her flag – the old one with the coat of arms from the time of the monarchy – be placed above her coffin. However, all factions of the municipal council had spoken out against it. Peppone replied: "So I tell you... that I don't care about your opinion and that Signora Cristina will go to the cemetery tomorrow with the flag she likes, because I value her more dead than you alive." Hence the sentence quoted at the beginning, "where at least the dead are respected."

Unfortunately, this church of St. James on the Via Francigena was closed.

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.

The origins of the village of Nibbiano date back to before the year 1000, a time when it is assumed that the complex was a walled-fortified village with the castle at the center. Some buildings, in fact, still show signs of the slits used to place drawbridges and walkways and the castle tower itself still retains its blocked-up battlements. Until the 14th century it was part of the possessions of the Monastery of San Colombano di Bobbio and in 1335 it passed to the Marquises Malvicini Fontana; in 1765 the Azara family owned the entire village. The castle, built in 1029, is made up of various portions that have been remodeled, demolished and rebuilt over time, especially between the 17th and 18th centuries, until it was transformed into Palazzo Malvicini Fontana with its current conformation. The internal staircase features a 17th-century fresco on the ceiling depicting the coats of arms of the Malvicini Fontana and Dal Verme families.