The best running trails around Pavullo Nel Frignano

Once dependent on the nearby village of Viecave, Crocette and its small community of people who live there revolve around the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta. It was built in 1607 and only 22 years later managed to become independent from the parish of Iddiano. In the churchyard there is a memorial stone in memory of Don Luigi Lenzini, the parish priest who was murdered in July 1945. The buildings of the sacristy, the bell tower and the rectory are joined to the church.

The main inhabited center of the historical region of Frignano, Pavullo today has around 18,000 inhabitants and is the second largest municipality in the province of Modena. It boasts numerous hilly hamlets of great charm, such as Verica or Coscogno, but its center is also graceful and characteristic. Despite being bombed and mostly destroyed during the Second World War, in fact, Pavullo has been well rebuilt and the church of San Bartolomeo, patron saint of the town whose pilgrim statue is located outside the church itself, is worth a visit.

panorama from the lovers' bench

Mount Cimone

The history of the community of Crocette, politically subjected to Viecave and ecclesiastically to Iddiano, begins when at the beginning of the 17th century the inhabitants built their own church and claimed autonomy from the parish of Iddiano, which they obtained with difficulty in 1629. The community of Crocette, committed to establishing the parish benefice, it received from the bishop the right to elect the parish priest, as happened until recently. In the churchyard a memorial stone was placed in 2005 in memory of Don Luigi Lenzini, the parish priest murdered in July 1945, one of the many victims of the climate of hatred, resentment and revenge, a consequence of the civil war which tragically divided the world in those years. Italy, the cause of brutal crimes committed by both sides and left unpunished. https://www.comune.pavullo-nel-frignano.mo.it/turismo-a-pavullo/scopri-pavullo/cosa-visitare/scoprire-le-frazioni/crocette-s-antonio/ In the churchyard there is also a sign indicating the itinerary of the western Via Romea Nonantolana.

Montecuccolo Castle is a wonderful and majestic well-preserved castle that is worth visiting. Its history begins at the time of Matilda of Canossa, when a family of her vassals obtained the investiture of the fiefdom in 1116 from Emperor Henry V and built a tower and a first palace on this hill at the beginning of the 12th century. After a long struggle with other local feudal lords, the Montecuccoli, who emerged victorious, expanded the fortress which took on its current appearance between the 15th and 17th centuries, with the addition of the new palace, the square tower and the podesteria. The castle offers a beautiful view of the sunset from its terrace located in the rear entrance, where the restaurant is also located. A curious fact about the castle is that it houses the highest balsamic vinegar cell in the world, at an altitude of 873 metres.

The Duke of Modena Francesco IV d'Este commissioned the construction of the palace and the adjacent ducal park between 1830 and 1844 as his summer residence. The Ducal Park is truly magnificent. It is a pleasure to stroll along its paths and admire the centuries-old specimens of redwoods, beech and oak trees. But the real attraction is an imposing cedar of Lebanon, 30 meters high and with a circumference of six meters at the base, which is considered one of the monumental trees of Italy and known as the "pinone".

From this bench you can admire the view over the entire valley.