The best traffic-free bike rides around Zerbo

Panoramic viewpoint over the vineyards.

The patronage of this shrine, dedicated to the Madonna, refers to the town of Loreto. This is one of the great and important Marian pilgrimage sites in Europe, along with Lourdes in the French Pyrenees and Fatima in Portugal. Unlike the other two places mentioned, however, Loreto is not known for apparitions of the Mother of God. Here, pilgrims can find something very tangible: Mary's childhood home in Nazareth (Israel). Her parents—not mentioned by name in the biblical writings of the New Testament—are mentioned in apocryphal traditions: Saint Anne and Saint Joachim are thus the grandparents of Jesus Christ (their common feast day in the calendar of saints is July 26). Crusaders likely dismantled the venerated building in Nazareth and brought it to Europe when the era of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land came to an end towards the end of the 13th century. But this very sober assumption is countered by a much more interesting legend: According to this, four angels carried out the translation and flew the house over the Mediterranean.

A story by Giovanni Guareschi – the literary "father" of "Don Camillo and Peppone" – ends with the sentence "Things happen there, in this strange region... where people think more with their clubs than with their brains, but where at least they respect the dead." To understand it, one must recall the political situation in Italy at that time, immediately after the end of World War II: The monarchy had been abolished, the royal family was in exile, and the communists were partially in power (as was the case in Don Camillo's village). In the story "The Old Teacher," the woman who had taught generations of villagers their ABCs has died. She had expressed her last wish to Mayor Peppone and Don Camillo that her flag – the old one with the coat of arms from the time of the monarchy – be placed above her coffin. However, all factions of the municipal council had spoken out against it. Peppone replied: "So I tell you... that I don't care about your opinion and that Signora Cristina will go to the cemetery tomorrow with the flag she likes, because I value her more dead than you alive." Hence the sentence quoted at the beginning, "where at least the dead are respected."

Golferenzo is a village well worth the climb: small, well-kept, and surrounded by the hills of the Tidone Valley and the Alta Val Versa. Getting there by bike means pedaling through vineyards, along scenic roads, and with views that will make all your efforts worthwhile. If you enjoy cycling through nature and discovering authentic villages, make a note of this: it's a tour worth doing at least once.

a few meters from the roundabout the road to the sand of Po di Spessa: a tiny Sahara desert for 2 and 4 wheel enthusiasts

Unfortunately, this church of St. James on the Via Francigena was closed.

Funny fish hang in the middle of the roundabout.

This stretch of the road connecting the hamlets of Torrone and Pizzofreddo is very scenic, as it runs along a ridge offering open views of the Versa Valley on one side and the Tidone Valley on the other.