Etappe 3 - maandag 9 mei Vertrekpunt: Reggio Emilia - Rapallo Afstand: 178 km

REGGIO EMILIA
Known as the Town of the Tricolor (which has been selected as flag of the Cispadana Republic on January 7, 1797), Reggio Emilia welcomes visitors with the impressive Calatrava bridges, visible from the motorway exit. In old-town, in piazza Prampolini, the Duomo (in Romanic style, then restructured between the XIVth and the XVth century) has been recently restored and brought back to its chromatic glory, by restoring the beautiful crypt with a cross vault, the fifteenth-century capitals, the Romanic style floor mosaic. The Town Hall overlooks the same square with its Tricolor eighteenth-century hall and the Museum dedicated to the history of the Italian flag. Next to piazza San Prospero, visitors can see the ancient piazza delle Erbe, which still hosts the market and the Basilica di San Prospero with its baroque façade and with its octagonal plan bell tower. The Basilica hosts a precious wooden choir dating back to the sixteenth century. Among unmissable places the Basilica della Beata Vergine della Ghiara with a series of frescoes made by Ludovico Carracci and by the Guercino.The Teatro Municipale (1857) shall be counted among town symbols: it has a neoclassical façade and a magnificent hall with golden stucco-works and a frescoed ceiling. Remarkable are also the foyer rooms, among which the Sala degli Specchi is worth noting.

FROM REGGIO EMILIA TO RAPALLO

Quattro Castella (Re)
A landscape dotted with parish churches, castles, towers, sentry towers, monasteries and small stone villages where time seems to have stopped. These are the lands of the Countess Matilde di Canossa (1046-1115), one of the most powerful and influential women in the Middle Ages. Sightseers can visit the ruins of the Canossa Castle with the Museum and the Castles of Rossena, Sarzano, Bianello and Carpineti. A land rich or archeological finds, where witnesses of history liaise with wine and food treasures along the Wine and Taste Route. The Lambrusco Grasparossa Colli of Scandiano and of Canossa Doc. are produced in these soft lands.

Mamiano di Traversatolo (Pr)
A nineteenth-century villa, immersed in a huge park, hosts the Fondazione Magnani Rocca which preserves the art collection of Luigi Magnani (1906-1984), musicologist and man of letters. Among paintings, sculptures and  engravings visitors can admire masterpieces of Dürer, Cézanne, Renoir, Morandi, Burri, Guttuso, besides Flemish tapestries, furniture and Empire-style objects. Every year internationally recognized exhibitions are organized.

Fornovo Taro (Pr)
Fornovo, on the ancient Via Francigena, where the Taro and Ceno rivers merge, has very ancient origins, most probably Celtic. It is still possible to take the ancient route, either horse riding or walking, and to revive old emotions, admiring masterpieces and monuments immersed in an uncontaminated, poetical and silent nature. The façade of the Pieve Romanica di Santa Maria Assunta is embellished by sculptures of the school of Benedetto Antelami and inside the Pieve hosts a thirteenth-century slab of carved white marble, utilized as frontal of the altar. Among curiosities, Fornovo hosts Tobacconist’s Shop no. 1, the most ancient Italian tobacconist’s shop. The area is also famous for its specialty foods, and in particular for mushrooms and soft fruits, torrent trout and game.