The best hikes from bus stations in Geosito Di Croara

The Castle was first mentioned in a document from 1001. On this occasion, Bishop Sigifredo granted the Benedictine monks of San Savino (Piacenza) some land, including the area of the Castle. The building has a trapezoidal plan and has four circular towers. The first of the four towers dates back to around the year 1000, which only later became four. The Castle was often the scene of clashes and battles. In 1212, the Guelphs of Piacenza took refuge there, threatened by the Ghibellines of Visconti, but they were worsted because they were defeated later in two battles. In the fourteenth century, the Castle was inhabited by Gabriello Boccapiccina, then it passed to the Chiapponi family. When the Chiapponi family died out, in the eighteenth century they were replaced by the Scotti di San Giorgio, who profoundly adapted the building, transforming it into a stately home. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Castle belonged for a short period to the Lombardi of Genoa; it was then sold to Eng. Giuseppe Manfredi, who had it restored by Prof. Camillo Guidotti. From 1930 to 1987, the building was owned by the Ursuline Mothers of Piacenza. Today, the Castle is used by the current owner as a venue for private events.

Rivalta Castle is one of the very few European examples of manors surrounded by an ancient village that has largely remained intact today.

Rivalta Castle is one of the very few European examples of manors surrounded by an ancient village that has largely remained intact today. Mentioned in documents as early as 1048, it is a sumptuous noble residence, surrounded by a magnificent park. The castle shows a quadrangular planimetric development and is characterized by a singular fifteenth-century cylindrical tower, which ends with the unmistakable small tower

The mighty castle of Momeliano, made up of three rectangular bodies arranged on a U-shaped plan, is the result of two construction phases. The oldest nucleus dates back to the fourteenth century, the most recent one can be dated between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Over the centuries it underwent several changes of ownership, up to the Stevani family who, at the end of the nineteenth century, put much of the surrounding land under viticulture. The general state of conservation of the castle is good. Worth noting are: traces of the joints of the drawbridge in the building facing south-east; the battlements, now closed in an arch and accessible via a narrow corridor; the remains of the pointed arched windows walled up on the south-east front; the loggia towards the courtyard; two pairs of arches.

The Castle of Rezzanello appears mentioned for the first time in a document from 1001. On this occasion Bishop Sigifredo granted some land to the Benedictine monks of San Savino, including the Castle area. The castle has a trapezoidal plan with four towers that stand out from the corners and a large internal courtyard. The turrets have a round base, are elegantly slender and crowned by a projection supported by arches and covered by a conical roof. The same type of arches in double order creates a decorative motif in the attic. To adapt it to housing needs, numerous large windows were opened, regularly distributed on all the facades. Located in the center of a valley, it is surrounded by a splendid seven-hectare park with centuries-old plants, a fountain and streams. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the castle was transformed into a stately home. The new owner, Eng. Giuseppe Manfredi entrusted the intervention to the architect Camillo Guidotti who conducted it according to the late-romantic criteria then in vogue, altering the original design.

The Bosco di Croara is a millenary place full of stories and with a very varied vegetation (to name a few, there are chestnut trees, orchids, hazelnuts, maples and butcher's broom).

Rivalta Castle is a large fortified complex overlooking the Trebbia. Definitely worth a visit as well as the streets that surround it.

Very nice and well kept.