A route for bicycles, nature and sports lovers, that winds mostly along slow streets and bike paths, passing through the towns and the relaxing countryside of Alfonsine, Bagnacavallo and Conselice, where one can find monuments, museums, green areas and parks with sports areas.
The itinerary is marked by specific road signs, is suitable for everybody and passes through a territory that is rich in parks and equipped areas for sports and wellness. It is characterized by the presence of nature reserves and ecological rebalancing areas and also by ancient parish churches, significant museums and monuments.
The route passes through Alfonsine, where one can encounter the birthplace of the well-known Italian neoclassical poet Vincenzo Monti. It is a colonial building that houses a museum dedicated to him and is also the starting point for exploring the Riserva Naturale di Alfonsine (Natural Reserve) with its rich fauna and flora.
Along the route there is one of the three stations of the Natural Reserve, called Fascia boscata del Canale dei Mulini (Wood area of Mills' Canal). It consists of the last section of the Canale dei Mulini (Mills' Canal), which is protected by dense vegetation and delimited by the nineteenth-century Chiavicone della Canalina, an old building that has been chosen by an interesting colony of the so-called "Pipistrelle di Tebano” (a species of bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) for their breeding.
In the center of the town, the Museo della Battaglia del Senio (Museum of the Battle of the Senio) is an unmissable stop, for a total immersion in the period of World War II, with a focus on the significant permanence of the front in Romagna, along the Senio river valley, that represents, for Alfonsine and the other small towns along it, the place of Memory.
The itinerary continues toward Bagnacavallo, along the Canale Naviglio Zanelli (Naviglio Zanelli Canal) bicycle path. Here, the countryside is tinged with a variety of colors depending on the season and is enriched by the presence of an old donkey bridge, the last vestige of the existence of one of the eleven sluices built at the time the canal was created in the late 18th century, and an old mill.
Passing through the small and charming town center, which retains its medieval structure, the route leads to the ancient Pieve di San Pietro in Sylvis (San Pietro in Sylvis parish church) which is the best-preserved parish church in the area around Ravenna and houses precious 14th century frescoes attributed to Pietro da Rimini.
Not far away from the Pieve, there is the Ecological Rebalancing Area Podere Pantaleone. It is an outdoor educational museum where the human presence is limited to the area near the entrance and the local fauna und flora have freely grown, creating an habitat of great enviromental interest. It has become a refuge for many species of birds in winter, during migrations.
To reach Conselice (third stop), the itinerary crosses the Lugo countryside, encountering the Chiesa di Ascensione (Ascension's church) with its 16th century frescoes, the Castello del Ducato di Fabriago (Ducato di Fabriago's castle) and the Antica pieve - Chiesa di Campanile (Campanile's parish church) which is one of the oldest rural parish churches in the area around Ravenna, with its majestic 11th century cylindrical bell tower.
In the area around Conselice, one can visit the Bosco Urbano (Conselice's wood) that is an Ecological Rebalancing Area where birds and bats can breed, and it's arecreation of the original marsh environment of the area, with groves and wetlands.
Once in the town center, one can find a very symbolic monument that commemorates the story of more than 140 women and men involved in the clandestine printing complex of Bassa Romagna during World War II. It is the Monumento alla stampa clandestina e alla libertà di stampa (Monument to the Clandestine Press and Press Freedom).
