In the little town of Calendasco you can see the place where the ancient European pilgrims ferried to cross the river Po and continue the journey towards Rome. This place used to be the only river crossing along the medieval route Via Francigena.

Via Francigena | Ph. The Crowded Planet

The ford is located in the hamlet of Soprarivo. Once here, you can’t help to take a selfie next to the stele (a small stone column) that recalls when Sigerico, the bishop of Canterbury, waded the Po in the year 990.
Would you believe that even today you can live the same experience? In Soprarivo there is a ferry boat service from one side of the Po to the other.

27 km from previous stage

Keep going along the Piacenza bank of the river until you come across Isola de Pinedo.
It is a hidden place, like a sort of jewel. To get there, you can start from the hamlet of Zerbio in the municipality of Caorso (13 km from Piacenza).
Drive for a while, then you must park because the final stretch can be covered only on foot.
So you arrive in this silent protected area. Isola de Pinedo is located in an abandoned branch of the river.
Over time, a natural wetland area has grown up and today the sight is absolutely captivating: willows, reeds, age-old oaks, freshwater mirrors, herons and gazettes. The kingdom of bird watching.

18 km from previous stage

Everyone has probably heard of Busseto, because Busseto is the native town of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), the most famous opera composer in the world.
Therefore, no surprise: everything in the city speaks of the Maestro: from the bronze statue that stands in the square, to the historical theater, to the Casa Barezzi Museum.

Busseto | Ph. il moruz

The mansion where little Giuseppe was born, still exists and can be visited: it is in the hamlet of Roncole.
In any case, Busseto is a charming historical little town, worth a stop.
Suffice it to say that it was awarded with the Orange Flag from the Italian Touring Club. (the Orange Flag is a tourism quality mark, given to small towns in the hinterland that stand out for their excellent offer and quality hospitality).

6.3 km from previous stage

A fortified castle (1320), between the water and the trees on the bank of the Po river, is something you don’t see every day. This is why Polesine Parmense is worth while a stop, for a special view of the river countryside.

Antica Corte Pallavicina | Ph. anticacortepallavicinarelais

This is the world of the starred chef Massimo Spigaroli and his Antica Corte Pallavicina restaurant (1 Michelin star). Here you can learn how to make pasta and also salumi.
Take a guided tour of the castle and the farm. Smell the salumi scents in the Culatello Museum.
Outside, peacocks walk in the garden, while ancient breeds, like the black pigs, graze nearby.

11 km from previous stage

Your journey along the river will now take you at another castle: Roccabianca. And since – as you know – each castle can tell a romantic story, Roccabianca has a special one.
The manor was built in the mid 1400s by the nobleman Pier Maria Rossi: it was a gift for his beautiful and beloved noblewoman Bianca Pellegrini. This explains the name Roccabianca.

Roccabianca Castle

Theirs was truly a appassionate love, it lasted a lifetime. Actually the lovestory was parallel to the official wedding (stipulated for political reasons) of him with Antonia Torelli.
Loyalty, love, spirit of dedication, patience are the virtues painted in the cycles frescoed inside the building. Roccabianca was called the Castle of lovers.

Roccabianca Castle | Ph. castellidelducato

This is also the place of rare liqueurs, spirits, balsamic vinegar: they are on display in the Distillery Museum in the ancient cellars.
Just 10 kilometers inland, there is another manor that was owned by the same Rossi family: the Renaissance Castle of San Secondo.

18 km from previous stage

There is a reason why Royal Palace of Colorno (early eighteenth century) – just outside Parma – is called “The Little Versailles”. If you are wondering which one might be, just get there and you will understand it in a second.

Colorno Palace | Ph. @wwikiwalter

It was the superb Duke Palace of Maria Luigia from Austria (ex-wife of Napoleon), Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla.
Baroque style, over 400 rooms, frescoes, courtyards, stairways and fountains.
It also hosts the Alma haute cuisine school.

16 km from previous stage

The village of Brescello is the set of the popular movies Peppone and Don Camillo, the much loved characters, by the Italian writer Giovannino Guareschi.
The plot is about a pugnacious village priest whose confrontation with his adversary, the local communist mayor Peppone, create humorous short stories.

Brescello | Ph. @ilmondodidoncamillo

The writer Giovannino Guareschi used to say that Brescello is a small world of down-to-heart people, good food and river landscapes.
The Don Camillo and Peppone Museum have many curiosities on display.

4.7 km from previous stage

A nice fluvial harbour is the next stage of your tour. The village is Boretto: its port has been very important since Roman times. Cruises, boats and motorboats (such as Padus and Stradivari) start from here.

Po River | Ph. Stradivari Boat

You can take your bike on board, get off at Guastalla village and then return to Boretto along the cycle path that runs along the river surrounded by water, woods and reeds (11 km long). In Boretto you can rent bikes and MTB.

7.1 km from previous stage

Gualtieri is another noble village on the coast. You can walk among rows of poplar groves, the smell of fried dumplings and of soft cured meats.
The most amazing sight is given by Piazza Bentivoglio, embraced by a row of arcades.

Gualtieri | Ph. caba2011

Go to the Museum dedicated to the naive painter Antonio Ligabue with his colorful paintings, populated by fantastic animals.

Some 5 km away, in the hamlet of Santa Vittoria there is a curious building: the XVII century Palazzo Greppi. It has a 145-meter long facade stretching along the road.

3.5 km from previous stage

The glorious past of little town of Guastalla is still alive, among its buildings, churches, porticoes. Guastalla used to be the seat of the Gonzaga dynasty between 1575 and 1630.
In the square the protagonists are the statue of Ferrante Gonzaga and the sixteenth-century cathedral recently illuminated by a new sophisticated lighting system.

Guastalla | Ph. Sailko

In the summer, people chill out in Lido Po, the beach by the river.
From Guastalla you can take the cycle path and arrive effortlessly (2 km flat) to Luzzara, the town of the scenographer, writer, poet and painter Cesare Zavattini (1902-1989).
Here there is the National Museum of the Naives Arts, housed in the 15th century Convent of the Augustinians monks.

Po River | Ph. Nicchio