Animal-loving families find great hospitality in the surroundings of Piacenza. Below is an idea for a day trip.
Start at the Castle of San Pietro in Cerro, a few kilometers from Caorso, along the Turin-Brescia (A 21) highway. With its large park and a special art collection that includes an authorized copy of the Warriors of Xian, this castle offers a free dog-sitting service.
The journey continues to Castell'Arquato, where you can enjoy lunch and a walk through the village until a climb to the Rocca Viscontea. From here the landscape offers a different surprise in every season.
The day ends at the archaeological site of Veleia Romana, where you can discover how the Romans lived in ancient times in the hills of Piacenza.
Dogs are allowed on a leash at both sites.
The day out with family and four-legged friends begins in the plains of Piacenza, among small urban clusters and expanses of fields, at the castle of San Pietro in Cerro, located in the municipality of the same name.
The well-preserved 15th-century manor house is surrounded by a large park with a romantic tree-lined entrance avenue that gives access to the courtyard and the rooms that overlook it.
The rooms contain the history of the place and the passions of the owners. The attics house a modern art collection, while the basement reveal to the visitor The Warriors of Xi'an: 40 perfect copies of the originals authorized and authenticated by the Chinese government.
During the visit, dogs are welcomed with a bowl of water and free dog-sitting service (reservation required).
The itinerary continues toward the hills. Passing through the Renaissance town of Cortemaggiore and Fiorenzuola d'Arda, you arrive for lunch in Castell'Arquato.
Starting from the parking lot along the Arda, it is possible to descend near the stream for a walk, before ascending through the narrow streets of the medieval village.
The monumental square is in the upper part of the town, where the Collegiate Church, the Palazzo del Podestà and the Rocca Viscontea are.
Your four-legged friends can climb with you to the top of the Rocca for a bird's-eye view of the square and the hills that change with each season, offering colorful autumns, clear winters with a glimpse of the Alps, springs with all shades of green and golden summers of wheat and sunflower fields.
At this point you have to rest and dedicate some time to the local typical dishes: chisolino, a fried dough to go with cured meats and cheeses, anolini stuffed with cheese, and Colli Piacentini Monterosso DOC wine.
At the end, you set off again for Veleia Romana. From Castell'Arquato take the road to Carpaneto Piacentino and follow the signs. A large dirt parking lot with some picnic tables welcomes visitors along the road. Once out of the car, you enter the site.
The Romans soon learned to appreciate the thermal waters that once enabled the construction of thermal baths in Veleia: Calidarium Tepidarium and Frigidarium, still recognizable from the pavements.
The most striking part is the large forum space onto which public buildings such as the basilica once overlooked. In the middle of the pavement runs an inscription in bronze letters that struck with sunbeams still shine and remind us of the work of euergetism of Lucius Lucilius Priscus.
A small antiquarium holds artifacts and copies of finds unearthed during excavations and now on display at the Archaeological Museum in Parma.
In the summer months the forum is transformed into a stage for the Veleia Festival of Ancient Theater.
