In the Area
First things first: you do not need a packed itinerary here. Podere Il Cerro is a place to slow down, read, and relax. But once you step beyond the garden gate, the surrounding hills of the Val d'Arda, the medieval towns, and the Food Valley of Emilia-Romagna offer endless excuses for an unhurried excursion.
The hills around Podere Il Cerro change with the season: vineyards, wheat fields, woodland, and small stone villages spreading out towards the Apennines.
The medieval skyline crowned by the 14th-century fortress
8 km / 10 minutes
Castell'Arquato
Just eight kilometres down the hill from the retreat, Castell'Arquato rises steeply above the Arda river. Climb the cobblestone lanes to the monumental upper square—one of the most intact medieval public spaces in northern Italy.
Here, the massive Rocca Viscontea (built in 1342) stands opposite the Romanesque Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta (consecrated in 1122, with an earlier eighth-century cloister) and the crenellated Palazzo del Podestà.
It is also the birthplace of Luigi Illica, Puccini's librettist for La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly. Visiting is best done slowly: wander through the upper alleys, find a table under the porticoes for a glass of local wine, and look back across the valley before heading home.
Intact 14th-century crenellated ramparts on a limestone ridge
16 km / 20 minutes
Vigoleno
Officially recognised as one of I Borghi più Belli d'Italia, Vigoleno is an extraordinary fortified hamlet on an isolated limestone ridge overlooking the Ongina valley.
The entire village is enclosed within circular crenellated walls that have survived remarkably complete since the fourteenth century. Walk the parapet ramparts, admire the Romanesque lunette of Saint George slaying the dragon above the church portal, and take in the panoramic views stretching across the countryside.
Vigoleno is also the home of the rare Vin Santo di Vigoleno DOC, an amber dessert wine made from dried indigenous grapes and aged for over five years in small wooden casks. A wonderful place to sit in the sun with a book before lunch.
Our everyday market town at the foot of the retreat hill
5 km / 6 minutes
Lugagnano Val d'Arda
Lugagnano is our practical home base in the valley. It is not an open-air museum, but an authentic Italian country town where daily life revolves around morning espresso at the local bar, the bakery, and conversations in the square.
Every Friday morning, the town square fills with the weekly open-air market: local farmers bring seasonal fruit, vegetables, mountain cheeses, and cured meats.
Stop by the local bakeries for chisöla (a traditional warm flatbread enriched with pork cracklings) or handmade pasta, and pick up any necessities from the pharmacy or alimentari before heading back up to Podere Il Cerro.
The Roman forum preserved in a secluded mountain amphitheatre
14 km / 20 minutes
Veleia Romana
Hidden in a quiet mountain bowl above Lugagnano, Veleia Romana was a flourishing Roman municipium from the second century BC until its gradual abandonment in the fourth century AD.
Because it lay covered beneath hillside earth for centuries, excavations have revealed the complete layout of an ancient Roman town: the forum with its original paving stones, the basilica, thermal baths with hypocaust heating, and stone quarters.
It was here in 1747 that the famous Tabula Alimentaria Traiana was unearthed—a bronze tablet recording the emperor Trajan's public endowment to support local children. The setting among the green hills is exceptionally quiet, with birds in the trees and no crowds.
Eighth-century fortress on volcanic rock above the Vezzeno gorge
24–28 km / 25–35 minutes
Castles of the Valleys
Perched on an immense volcanic ophiolite precipice high above the Vezzeno gorge, Castello di Gropparello dates back to the eighth century. Surrounded by ancient woods of oak and chestnut, it features working drawbridges, battlemented towers, and wild gorge trails.
Nearby in the Val Nure, Grazzano Visconti offers a fascinating contrast: in the early 1900s, Duke Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone restored his family's 1395 castle and built an entire artisan village around it, with pedestrian lanes of wrought iron, woodworking, ceramics, and an expansive 15-hectare landscaped park.
The irregular stone arches of Ponte Gobbo spanning the Trebbia
50 km / 55 minutes
Bobbio & Val Trebbia
Travelling through here during the war, Ernest Hemingway famously described the Val Trebbia as the most beautiful valley in the world. It remains wild and clean, with crystalline emerald water cutting through white limestone ravines.
At its centre sits Bobbio, an ancient town dominated by the seventh-century Abbey of San Colombano. Its legendary monastic scriptorium was among the greatest in early Christendom, directly inspiring Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.
Below town, the historic Ponte Gobbo (or Ponte del Diavolo) crosses the river on eleven irregular stone arches. On warm summer days, you can swim in the deep pools beneath the bridge.
Piacenza's 3 DOP cured meats and traditional hand-rolled pasta
Food Valley Traditions
The Table: 3 DOP Salumi
This is the western edge of Emilia-Romagna's celebrated Food Valley. Piacenza is the only province in Europe with three protected DOP cured meats: Coppa Piacentina, Pancetta Piacentina, and Salame Piacentino.
They are traditionally ordered with baskets of warm, puffed gnocco fritto (or torta fritta), which gently melts the salumi.
First courses are equally rich: pisarei e faśö (small flour-and-breadcrumb dumplings in a slow borlotti bean sauce) and delicate tortelli con le code braided with little tails and filled with ricotta and chard.
Vineyards of Gutturnio, Ortrugo, and Malvasia in the hills
Colli Piacentini DOC
Colli Piacentini Wines
The signature wine of Piacenza is red Gutturnio, a lively blend of Barbera (giving structure and bright acidity) and Bonarda (giving soft fruit). The sparkling version is traditionally poured into white ceramic bowls (scodelle) at country tables.
White wines along the Strada dei Vini dei Colli Piacentini include crisp Ortrugo, an ancient grape native only to these hills, and fragrant Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, with aromas of white peach and elderflower. Many family cantine welcome visitors for unhurried cellar visits.
Prehistoric seabed sediments in the Stirone and Piacenziano park
Protected Natural Area
Prehistoric Seabeds
Millions of years ago, the hills around Podere Il Cerro formed the warm, shallow floor of the ancient Pliocene Sea. Natural erosion has carved the slopes into dramatic calanchi (badlands)—steep gullies of grey clay.
In the protected Stirone and Piacenziano Regional Park, fossils of prehistoric oysters, scallop shells, and coral fragments lie exposed along walking paths. Gentle trails through oak woods and ridge meadows offer wonderful walking and birdwatching.
Piazza Cavalli with 17th-century bronze equestrian monuments
35–45 minutes by car
Piacenza & Parma
Piacenza (35 min): The provincial capital is peaceful and unhurried. Visit Piazza Cavalli with the red-brick Palazzo Gotico (1281), the Duomo with Guercino's frescoes, and the Galleria Ricci Oddi, home to Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Lady.
Parma (45 min): An aristocratic city of music and art: the pink Verona marble Baptistery, Correggio's illusionistic dome frescoes, the monumental all-wood Teatro Farnese, and the Teatro Regio opera house.
World capital of violin making, just across the Po river
Day Trips & Direct Rail
Cremona & Direct Trains
Cremona (45 min): Just across the Po in Lombardy, visit the Museo del Violino with original Stradivari instruments, luthier workshops, and the 112m Torrazzo, Italy's tallest brick bell tower.
Milan & Bologna by Train: For big city days, leave the car at nearby Fiorenzuola d'Arda station (18 min away). Direct regional trains reach Milan Centrale in 50 minutes or Bologna Centrale in 55 minutes, avoiding all city traffic.
Country rhythms, market mornings, and practical tips
Guest Handbook
Rhythms & Markets
Weekly Markets: Lugagnano on Friday; Castell'Arquato on Thursday; Fiorenzuola on Thursday & Saturday; Piacenza on Wednesday & Saturday (mornings until 12:30).
Afternoon Riposo: Small village shops, bakeries, and pharmacies close between 12:30 and 15:30.
Rest Days: Many country trattorias close on Monday or Tuesday. When planning your sojourn, booking a day ahead is always recommended.
Stay somewhere quiet. Read for a while. Then go and see what is around you.