The hillside-piedmont area, immediately south of Reggio Emilia, is an area of particular beauty and interest, dotted with castles and fortresses that look like guardians of the valleys, and with the first woods and hills that shelter them from the chaos of the plain.
The tour includes some stops to taste local food and wine specialties and visit the many locations along the route.
Our tour starts from Rubiera, a flat town crossed by the historic Via Emilia. The town is located halfway between Modena and Reggio Emilia and is very well connected to the Brennero-A1 motorway.
In the town centre, whose central street is lined with porticoes, is the Renaissance Palazzo Sacrati - formerly of the Boiardo family - home of the Town Hall. The Fort dominates the main square, a massive building with four towers, which was quite imposing with its battlements and walls at the entrance to the town. Here there are now two important starred restaurants, one opposite the other.
Particularly interesting is the monumental complex of the "Hospital Court" (XV century), built for the refreshment of travellers and pilgrims near the Secchia ford.
The real motorbike tour starts from Rubiera: we go on low roads in the open countryside (Via del Torrente, Via Franceschini, Via Canaletto) up to the town of Casalgrande, which preserves the historic part south of the state road.
In the hamlet of Casalgrande Alto it is possible to admire the remains of the ancient castle, consisting of a fortified courtyard dating back to the XV century, with two square towers, a lead system and the remains of battlements.
For lovers of contemporary art in the ceramic town there are two important sculptures signed by two famous architects and located in the centre of two roundabouts on Via Pedemontana (variant to SP467R): the Casalgrande Ceramic Cloud by Kengo Kuma (first Italian work) and the Casalgrande Ceramic Crown by Daniel Libeskind, a 17-metre high monolith fully covered with porcelain stoneware ceramic slabs. From here, turn right onto Via Turati and continue along Via Statale up to the hamlet of Veggia, bordering Sassuolo.
Within just 5 km, along Via Radici, you arrive in the municipality of Castellarano, a town on the Secchia river characterized by the beautiful XV-century Rocchetta (Fortress), the Castle and the Clock Tower. The fortress is part of the Castelli del Ducato network, and the medieval village of Castellarano can always be visited for free.
From the town centre, turn onto Via Manganella: you begin to climb through the Reggio Emilia hills facing the first hairpin bends. It is a double-laned road, and it will be a pleasure to ride on two wheels. Once you reach the crossroads between Via Telarolo and Via San Valentino you can choose whether to continue towards the Golf Club San Valentino or head towards the Castellarano Cross Valley, a motocross track on clay soil, to admire the acrobatics of other centaurs. Both roads are one-laned and, apart from a few slightly exposed stretches, pass through villages and immense valleys.
Via San Valentino first connects to Via Montebabbio and then to Via Monte Evangelo, in the town of Scandiano. Here a stop is a must at the Circolo della Caccia and at the Monte delle Tre Croci (Tre Croci Mount), a panoramic terrace overlooking the entire Reggio Emilia plain.
Leaving the motorbike, you can walk up to the Grande Quercia (Big Oak) and admire the surrounding landscape: the view is spectacular and very suggestive.
Going down and paying attention to the hairpin bends, you cross the hamlet of Ventoso and reach the centre of Scandiano, where you can visit the Boiardo Fortress, the most important monument, and taste the local wines from the regional wine shop.
After passing the hamlet of Borzano, you turn onto Via dell'Uliveto and reach the hamlet of Montericco, where you can admire lavander fields, vinegar factories and the beautiful church, the first in Italy to be dedicated to the Lourdes Virgin Mary.
Taking Via Castellana you descend towards the centre of Albinea, a town on the Reggio Emilia hillside. Over the centuries the aristocratic local Reggio Emilia families built their villas here, such as Villa Moratti, Villa Tarabini Viganò - which now hosts the municipal vinegar factory -, Villa Calvi, Villa Arnò, which hosts an important jazz festival in July, Villa Sidoli-Rossi, keeper of the secrets of Risorgimento Italy and the events of the Second World War, when the allies parachuted in to attack the German commando inside the building.
Go on to the hamlet of Broletto, taking Via Albinea Chiesa and descending onto Via Monteiatico and Via Conte Re. Here you can visit other typical vinegar factories in the area and taste the food and wine products of the Reggio Emilia province.
Go on the Provincial Road 21 and, after crossing the hamlet of Puianello, return towards Reggio Emilia, where we recommend you to follow this tour and walk among the squares, museums and monuments of the town centre.
From Reggio Emilia we travel along the Via Emilia and return to the starting point.
