Matilde Path - 4° stage from Carpineti to Toano

To venture along the "Sentiero Matilde" the best seasons are undoubtedly spring, late summer and autumn, trying to avoid rainy periods, midsummer for the lower altitude areas and winter for the Higher Altitude Apennines.

On foot, on horseback and on mountain bike.

Itinerario ideato e promosso dalla Provincia di Reggio Emilia.

The itinerary is suitable to single excursionists of small groups as well as to families or organized excursionists who, perhaps, prefer to rely on an environmentalist guide of the area.
The 80 km of so of the Matilde path, technically easy, takes place for the most part, along mule paths, carriage roads, gravel roads and paths. The allow you to reach, starting from the plains, the apennine ridge, the dividing line the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic. The itinerary goes from Vico di Ciano d'Enza up to S. Pellegrino in Alpe, in spite of being done by trained walkers in 3-4 days, it has been purposely proposed in 7 easy stages. This is to allow for a detailed visit of the area. There are numerous points of historical and architectural interest which you encounter along the route, from the main castles of Matilde, to the sandstone tower-houses which dot the landscape, to the Romanesque parishes. And not the least, slowly walking along favors aeno-gastronomic encounters which, being in the heart of Emilia, are not lacking: we would like to cite the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese produced in small scattered dairies, or the traditional Balsamic vinegar ( founded on the cliff of Canossa), the mushrooms, the chestnuts.

Il castello dista da Carpineti capoluogo circa 2 km
Carpineti dista da Reggio Emilia km 37 e si raggiunge percorrendo la SS 63 fino all'altezza del bivio di Marola (appena usciti dalla galleria "Seminario") e quindi si imbocca la SP 98 seguendo le indicazioni.

Matildic Area

Apennines

Itinerary in detail
Descriptive part specific to the stage Carpineti-Toano
Time needed: 5 hrs
Difference in altitude climbing: 850 m
Difference in altitude descending: 450 m The castle of the Carpinete stands high on the ridge which connects Mount Valestra with Mount Fòsola and the Pietra di Bismantova. It can be reached in half an hour from the centre of Carpineti, going uphill along the old Matildic way' through the depths of the chestnut wood. A short detour of 45 minutes following the ridge towards North, links the castle with the isolated parish of San Vitale, which houses a youth hostel and offers refreshments (for details contact ideanatura: +39 0536 966112 mobile +39 3392943736 ). The "Matilda Path" continues southwards along the slopes of Mount Banzola and after about one kilometre, near to Cà Serra, it goes downhill to the left of the church of San Pietro. The route continues along an old mule track, which goes downhill to the shores of the River Secchia, passing through Savognàtica. The stone houses from the XV and XVI century are decorated with numerous precious architectural elements. Near to the last house, the road turns right and becomes a mule track next to a beautiful fountain. The downhill path continues half-way down the slope and after the Fosso delle Coste waterway, a carriage road takes us up to Cà Bazzani, near to the "i Boschi" village. The next part of the trail is very mild and passes through vineyards and cultivated fields, up to the local asphalt road near to Cogliolla. Along a dirt track it takes about forty minutes to reach the bridge over the River Secchia. Beyond the provincial road at the bottom of the valley, the path starts to go uphill on the right bank of the river, along the old "local road" which cuts through the open cultivated fields up to Cavola, a place renowned for its prized truffles (B&B Cà d'la Carla and B&B Cà del Vento ). The portal and side walls of the parish church have striking decorations in stone with engraved dates. Above the village stands the parish church of the Madonna della Neve, inside which there is an inlaid wooden seventeenth-century altar, created by Francesco Ceccati. In half an hour along a gently sloping carriage road on the left, we come to Stiano, a rural village on the slopes of Mount Croce. Even the hastiest walkers will admire the old house of the Ceccati family from the XV and XVI century and the seventeenth-century Casino of the Manfredi family. The route continues along an old mule track until we reach the local road for Corneto. We leave the road after 200 metres then go uphill on the left through a forest, then over the fields until we reach Manno, where pilgrims and hikers are awaited by a cool fountain, a wayside shrine and a picnic area. Here we can admire the courtyard of the Gherardini family, in typical Apennine style. A fifty-minute uphill walk through thick woods take us to Mount Toano, along an old mule track which leads directly to the clearing on the summit, where the parish of Santa Maria has stood for one thousand years, one of the oldest of the Reggio diocese. It has a simple, gabled façade, whilst inside we can admire some extraordinary sandstone capitals with anthropomorphic, geometric and floral figures. Below the parish, towards the modern centre of Toano, stands the hamlet of the castle, the original nucleus of the settlement. The tower is used as a bell tower and can be heard from a long distance away along the valleys of the River Secchia and the River Dolo. Accommodation in Toano can be found in Hotel Miramonti***. The Matilda Path is clearly marked with signposts and information boards. The path is marked horizontally with painted red, white and red markings and is marked vertically with posts all along its entire length with metal arrows according to CAI (Italian Mountaineering Club) standards. There are several stopping places at strategic points on the "Matilda Path" with an information boards