Points of Interest
Discover the locations on the Community Map and listen to the audio tracks
Use the interactive map to navigate and immerse yourself in the many points of interest identified by our community and located in the Faenza Apennines area.
Click on the pins on the map and listen to the audio tracks to discover the places
COMMUNITY MAP
01. The Fortress
02. The Hamlet
03. Senio River
04. 127 Days of Riolo Museum Park
05. Mt Mauro and the Pieve
06. Thermal Baths of Riolo
07. The Gullies
08. Toranello’s Rivoni
09. Chalk Houses and Borgo dei Crivellari
10. Borgo Rivola
11. King Tiberius Cave
12. Sasso Letroso Quarry
13. Church of the Costa
14. Vulcanetti of Bergullo
15. Rio Basino
16. Gallisterna
17. Limisano
18. S. Pietro in Sala Abbey
19. Isola and Bailey Bridge
20. The Castelline
21. Cuffiano and Fantaguzzi Mill
The Rocca di Riolo, an ancient fortress in the Senio Valley, is a magnificent example of military fortification that follows the evolution of Late Medieval defensive techniques and was built, together with its village, towards the end of the 14th century.
The original nucleus dates back to 1388, when the people of the valley surrendered to the government of the city of Bologna, in exchange for protection from the raids they were suffering. Thus, a square tower, now contained within the "mastio", was built. The first tower had walls not thicker than one metre, wooden floors connected by ladders and very small windows.
After 1450, when the fortress was disputed between Astorgio Manfredi and his nephew Taddeo, it was also adapted to the advent of fire artillery. The tower was lowered and rebuilt on the outer side, becoming a keep to all intents and purposes, while retaining its function as the last defensive core walls. A drawbridge was built, the casemates for storing the firearms were constructed and the moat was dug. In 1472, Carlo II Manfredi became lord of the County of Valsenio and he restructured the castle's defences by building a new curtain wall around the village, with four cylindrical towers and a large circular ravelin in the wide moat. The donjon was also rebuilt, connections between the floors were added, a rescue hatch was opened at the rear and a new circular tower was built in the east corner.
Towards the end of the 15th century, under the rule of Girolamo Riario and Caterina Sforza, the fortress reached its maximum military efficiency and took on the appearance it still retains today.
Riolo Terme was founded in 1388, by the city of Bologna, as a garrison. Its development was mostly due to Carlo II Manfredi who, in 1472, placed Riolo at the head of the County of Valsenio. By following the streets that already existed at that time, we can undertake a journey back in time.
Piazza Mazzanti, formerly Piazza Maggiore, could be accessed from a ravelin, a circular tower that defended the gateway to the fortification and whose foundations are still evident in the paving of the square.
Following the perimeter of the moat up to Piazzetta Caterina Sforza, you can observe the Ghibelline architecture of the fortress and reach its entrance, once equipped with a drawbridge.
Through Via del Castello, you will reach the walls in the western corner from where it is possible to observe the Vena del Gesso (Chalk Vein) cutting through the Senio Valley to the south, while from the belvedere you can see the Senio river below.
Continuing along the walls of the ancient village, it is possible to reach the only surviving tower of the city walls, which defended the village of Riolo. Carrying on along the buildings that were built at the same time of the first houses of the village, you reach Via della Pace, formerly Via del Lazzaretto, overlooked at the end of the 16th century by Cà della Valle, where the Council of the County of Valdisenio met.
In the heart of the hamlet, you can find the severed bell tower and Sante Ghinassi Hall, a building erected in 1428 and a place of worship until 1960. From here, it is possible to reach and walk along Via Lolli, formerly Contrada di Mezzo, which, like the parallel Contrada di Sopra and Contrada di Sotto, preserves very old houses, as evidenced by walls characterised by large foundations.
The Senio river is about 90 km long. It has its source in the Altello knoll, in the Tuscan-Romagna Apennines, near Mount Carzolano, in the province of Florence and after a few kilometres it enters the province of Ravenna. The Senio flows through 10 municipalities, and it is the last right side tributary of the Reno.
During Roman times, it was known as Sinnius, but the origins of the name are pre-Roman, probably Celtic. In ancient times, as soon as it reached the valley, the river flowed into the waters of the eastern arm of the Santerno, the course of which was different from today and the joined rivers flowed in a single bed as far as the valleys; it was only after the year 1000 that the two branches of the Santerno split. The connecting stretch between the main branch and the secondary branch dried up and only the waters of the river Senio were channelled into the eastern branch bed.
The first part of the valley crossing the river, is configured as narrow, with steep sides and a well preserved wild landscape. Once past Casola Valsenio, the river flows in its bed as far as the Vena del Gesso sluice, near Borgo Rivola: this is the most spectacular point of the entire valley, where the river has eroded the mountain to uncover the "living" rocks overhanging its waters.
During the Second World War, in the winter of 1944-45 , bitter fighting between the Germans and the Allies took place for many months by the river Senio. The advance of the Allies into Romagna, which had begun in the summer, came to a halt near the defensive line that the Germans had built along the Senio, leaving indelible marks in these villages. The Germans made the river their last stronghold: in December 1944 the front stopped on its banks, until the Allied breakthrough on 10th April 1945.
The Park Museum of the 127 days of Riolo is housed under the ancient walls of the village and it is dedicated to the victims of Nazi-Fascism. The park displays the intriguing bronze sculptures by the local artist from Riolo Giovanni Bertozzi, inspired by the 'sketches' illustrating Leonida Costa's book 'Le 127 giornate di Riolo', created by the artist Carlo Vittorio Testi.
During the Second World War, the town of Riolo Terme was a German stronghold and the site of fierce battles that caused extensive damage, mourning and destruction. The 1944-45 war operations stopped in the Riolo area, by the river Senio, for four months. Riolo was liberated on 11th April, after 127 long days of siege, by the 'Friuli' Combat Group and the Jewish Brigade, part of the British Army Troop.
At the beginning of the path, an iron plaque announces and introduces the Park. The main monument is made of bronze, while the plinths of the other structures are made of stone and support bronze or ceramic high reliefs.
Monte Mauro, located on the border between Riolo Terme and Brisighella, with its 515 metres of altitude, is the highest peak of the Chalk Vein of Romagna and the site of greatest natural and landscape interest in the Regional Park.
The characteristic three peaks of the mountain are set in a vast and wild system of cliffs and dolines, thickly covered with vegetation: the imposing south-facing cliffs have a microclimate that allows the presence of typically Mediterranean habitats and species; on the north side of the Vein, on the other hand, the slopes are less steep and there are generally gentler slopes covered with woods or scrubland. The spectacular, steep chalky walls of the mountain are also the ideal environment for the nesting of the eagle owl.
Originally, the mountain was indicated by the name Tiberiacum, referring to the Early Medieval castle and parish church situated here, but it gradually began to be referred to as Mons Maior (the greater mountain), which eventually became Monte Mauro.
The Pieve of Santa Maria in Tiberiaci that stands on the mountain, survived the adjacent castle which has now been completely obliterated and was formerly located on the highest peak of the mountain itself. This parish church was hidden amidst the high vegetation, standing out only thanks to its characteristic bell tower and served as the hub of social and economic life, as well as religious life. The first documents attesting to its presence date back to the 10th century, but the present building is the result of a restoration completed in 2004.
The healing springs of Riolo and their therapeutic virtues had been known since prehistoric times to the aborigines of the Senio Valley, who worshipped them and continued to frequent them in Roman and Medieval times. Later, the fame of the curative properties of these waters and muds spread throughout Europe and illustrious guests stayed in Riolo including Lord Byron, Gioacchino Murat and the Bonaparte princes, Pellegrino Artusi and Carducci.
During the 19th century, the ever-increasing influx of guests suggested the creation of a thermal centre of great value: thus, in 1877 the elegant establishment of Terme di Riolo was born, located in the green heart of Romagna and set in a wonderful centuries-old park.
Originating from different sources in the area, the waters of Riolo stand out for their mineral properties. The Breta, for example, is a water extracted from an aquifer located in the depths of the Regional Park of the Vena del Gesso Romagnola. When it comes to muds, those of Riolo Terme hold a supremacy in the region: they are the only ones to spring from small conical openings in the ground, called ‘vulcanetti’, naturally mixed with salso-bromo-iodine water. Therefore, unlike other muds, those of Terme di Riolo are by nature loaded with therapeutic substances.
The Gullies are land formations caused by the erosion of water runoff from clay or marly soils, which are incised by deep grooves separated by knife-edged ridges that are easily broken up. The clay composing these soils, when soaked with water, tend to slide and collapse creating ridges and pinnacles.
The typical white landscape of the gullies, arid and bare, denotes important places where clays were deposited on the sea floor between 5 and 2 million years ago. These areas are rich in fossils and have mineralogical, geological and morphological features of great scientific importance. They are also linked to particular historical and cultural events, such as the extraction of materials for ceramics.
Distinctive landscapes can be observed in these places, where the plant environment is substantially reduced in comparison to other contexts, but it is no less interesting since these are species with the ability to adapt to the extreme conditions of the environment. We can observe prairies with a changing appearance that tend to disappear in the warmer months, shrub species such as broom, tamarisk, rosaceae and some juniper, and tree forms are almost totally absent except where, the presence of lakes or ponds due to impermeable soils, has led to the formation of thickets with oaks, rowan trees and a few white poplars perched and isolated between semi-desert areas.
Toranello is a locality within the municipality of Riolo Terme immersed in greenery, among the typical cultivations of this territory. The Rivone di Toranello is a potential geological site for the presence of salt water, where 'it seems that... a snake with a crest guards a castlè d'or' (golden castle).
The hamlet of Crivellari is located on the northern slope of the Chalk Vein, almost flattened under Monte Mauro and represents one of the few settlements built on the rocks of Romagna, becoming an example of a village built 'on chalk and with chalk'.
The first records of the nucleus of houses that formed the villagedate back to the 13th century: these dwellings were built solely with local materials such as flint, blocks of selenitic chalk and baked chalk used as a binder.
The name of the hamlet possibly derives from the Latin "cribrum" (riddle tool or sieve), later translated into the Romagnolo word "carvel", testifying to the work of quarrymen to which the inhabitants were dedicated. The only economic activities of the village, in an environmental context that made access to water resources particularly difficult, were backward agriculture and gypsum extraction carried out on an artisanal basis. In fact, countless mining sites and chalk kilns, always small in size, have been identified in the vicinity of the village.
The relationship between man and environment was very close and the most easily accessible caves in the area, such as the Fairies' Hole and the Queen's Hole, were exploited to keep fruit, water and wine cool.
This particular settlement was then gradually abandoned after the Second World War, but walking among its ruins today it is still a very suggestive experience. Furthermore, during the visit, it is not difficult to imagine how hard the life of its inhabitants was.
Borgo Rivola is a hamlet part of the municipality of Riolo Terme and it is located within the Regional Park of the Vena del Gesso Romagnola. Here it is possible to visit the Grotta del Re Tiberio (King Tiberius' Cave), which is the most celebrated cave in the Vena del Gesso Regional Park, and the Centro Visite sul Carsismo e la Speleologia (Visitor Centre on Karstification and Speleology), a museum that acts as a thematic reference point in the area for discovering the fascinating underground world of the Vena del Gesso.
Borgo Rivola stands in the centre of a basin surrounded on one side by the Vena del Gesso and on the other by gullies: a unique feature for a landscape as well as for a settlement. In fact, it is a characteristic example of a popular artisan and agricultural settlement, which today represents one of the most picturesque corners of the valley. The historic centre is built on a small chalky promontory known as 'ripula', i.e. 'small bank', from which the name Borgo Rivola derives. The name of the town appears for the first time in the municipal archives of Imola in 1316, but the settlement has much older roots: remains of Roman residences and villas and of a necropolis from the Eneolithic age have also been found in the area.
Here, the narrows in which the gypsum vein forces the Senio river to flow, create one of the most evocative points of the valley: the clean break with the landscape of the gullies downstream, the village built on the promontory, the King Tiberius' Cave opening onto the chalky cliff and the river itself losing its torrential character to subside in the bends towards Riolo, make this place a focal point of the entire valley.
From Borgo Rivola, it is possible to undertake some of the most evocative excursion routes in the Regional Park, such as the Riva di San Biagio ring, straddling the provinces of Ravenna and Bologna, or the Monte Mauro ring, the most complete and fascinating one, which allows you to discover all the peculiarities of the park.
The Grotta del Re Tiberio (King Tiberius' Cave) is the best known and most 'celebrated' cave in the Parco della Vena del Gesso Romagnola. The cave opens in the Senio Valley, in the chalk formations of Monte Mauro, in front of Borgo Rivola, and it is the terminal part of a vast system of natural cavities with a total length of over 6 kilometres and a difference in height of 223 metres. These caves drain water from the Monte Tondo (Round Mount) area: the underground streams, after an external path of several hundred metres, flow into the Senio River.
The Grotta del Re Tiberio is one of the best known and most interesting archaeological contexts in the region and was explored on various occasions: the most important investigations took place between 1865 and 1935, respectively by Giacomo Tassinari, Domenico Zauli Naldi, Giuseppe Scarabelli and Riccardo Lanzoni. The excavations revealed the millenary history of this natural cavity with finds dating from the Bronze Age to the late Middle Ages. Starting from the Bronze Age, in fact, the cave was used for funerary purposes, while later, in the Iron Age, it represented one of the most important sites for the cult of water and natural cavities in Romagna. With the arrival of the Romans, the frequentation of the cave did not cease, and cults of a healing nature continued to survive in its area. Traces of the presence of isolated hermits in the cave, dating to around the year 1000, have been found, while between the late 14th and the early 15th century this was occupied by a small metal workshop, possibly run by counterfeiters for the recycling of bronze artefacts from ritual offerings.
Along the ridge of Sasso Letroso, located on the left side of the Senio river, about 500 metres after the centre of Borgo Rivola, are the only lapis specularis quarries outside the Monte Mauro and Monte della Volpe (Mount of the Fox) gypsums.
The quarries of the Vena del Gesso Romagnola are the first to have been discovered in Italy where gypsum extraction was already practised in Roman times, when it was used as a valid alternative to glass. Lapis specularis is in fact a secondary gypsum, with large transparent crystals, which can be easily divided into flat slabs of the desired thickness when cut along the flaking plane and owes its name to its use in Roman times. Because of these characteristics, this type of gypsum was the subject of intense mining and wide-ranging commercialisation, particularly during the first centuries of the Empire. It was mostly used for making windows of dwellings, but it also in litters and to make the covering of small baskets in which to grow vegetables during winter.
In the area of Sasso Letroso, the main point of interest is a cavity that shows clear traces of karstic phenomena and is located at the base of the cliff: the walls of this cave are largely chiselled and in a crevice the remains of a vein of lapis specularis are visible. A few metres to the right, there is a niche that is also completely chiselled. Over the course of time, the main room was probably used for various purposes, as evidenced by a drinking trough carved into the chalk and several traces of hearths. Another completely artificial cavity is also located at the base of the chalk wall some fifteen metres to the west of the previous one.
Until the 16th century, the locality of Costa had the church of S. Martino in Saxo, first mentioned in 1126-30 in the bull of Onorio II in favour of the Imola church, as its religious reference point. Later bulls refer to St. Martino as the seat of a ‘curtis', the dominant agricultural property on which others depended, testifying to its importance as an ecclesiastical and administrative centre for the organisation of the surrounding territory. The appellation in Saxo, which distinguished the church of St Martin, indicates its connection with the fortified centre of Sasso, where the ancient castrum Saxi stood. Until the early 16th century, this was the main church in the area, but later its role was progressively taken over by the neighbouring church of St Stefano in Paganico, which absorbed it, incorporating its assets.
The present parish of La Costa is therefore the result of the union of the two ancient churches: the former ceased to exist in 1627 and was then used as a farmhouse; the latter was first mentioned in 1419, when it was called 'in Paganico', referring to the name of the land on which it was built.
The Vulcanetti di Bergullo, or 'Buldur' in the local dialect, have been known since the 1500s and it is from here that the mud used in thermal cures is extracted.
The 'Vulcanetti' are found along the Rio Sanguinario and consist of clay cones that can reach a diameter of 3-4 metres and are formed as a result of mud and fluids rising from underground. The 'Buldur' are thus produced by the outflow of clayey mud that is propelled by pressurised gases from deep underground, which, by finding escape routes along fractures in the upper part of the earth's crust, manage to reach the surface. Both the classic gurgling and the formation of bubbles are due to the presence of natural gas.
The term 'small volcano' is solely related to their morphology and has nothing to do with actual volcanic phenomena.
The activity of small volcanoes is not always regular: there have always been phases of greater and lesser growth, with the activity diminishing and disappearing over time.
The vegetation that grows around the cones is rather scarce and these are species that adapt to withstand extreme salinity and aridity conditions.
The Rio Stella sinkhole and the resurgent cave of the Rio Basino constitute a great example of a hydrogeological chalky rock tunnel that, measuring 5 kilometres in length, is among the largest in the entire continent. There are no dates for it, but the system is probably from the Upper Pleistocene age, possibly not older than 100,000 years.
The first person to realise that the "blind" valley and the resurgence could be part of a single large karst system crossing the chalk ridge was De Gasperi in 1912. It was only at the beginning of the 1950s that speleologists managed to penetrate about 700 metres into the resurgence of the Rio Basino and succeeded in reaching the junction in 1964.
The waters of the Rio Stella initially flow in sunlight, over non-carst rocks, then at the lowest point of the "blind" valley, this stream comes into contact with the chalk and suddenly disappears underground. Travelling along the Rio Stella sinkhole, we can encounter huge landslide boulders and chaotic areas where it is easy to lose the sense of orientation. These collapse areas are even larger in the middle part of the cave, where they are arranged on different levels. Meanwhile, following the underground stream further downstream, you can follow wide meanders with sinuous walls. These form the canyons typical of the sub-horizontal sections of caves in this area, that originated as the stream gradually subsided. After a subterranean journey of about 1.5 kilometres, the Rio Stella returns to flow in the sunlight as the Rio Basino and, before leaving the chalks, runs through a narrow and fascinating gorge between landslide boulders, meanders, small canyons and short waterfalls. Finally, the Rio Basino leaves the chalks for good and, after a course of about 2 kilometres in the clays, flows into the Senio river near the village of Isola.
The name Gallisterna was formerly used to indicate a stretch of territory in the Senio Valley of about 6 km, which extended from Serravalle to the Vena del Gesso. At the ends of this valley area were two castles: that of Serravalle, built by the Manfredi family in the 13th century and that of Sassatello, perched on the Vena del Gesso. Since antiquity, this has always been a strategic area as it precluded to the Florentines the passage to the great communication and trade routes towards the cities and the mutual exchanges between people from Tuscany and Romagna.
The church of Gallisterna, dedicated to St Thomas the Apostle, was formerly located in the village of Isola and it is first mentioned in a will of 1285 under the name of the Church of Isola. This should correspond to the present church of St. Tommaso of Gallisterna, which was relocated higher up, to its present location, probably as a result of some flooding. The Church of St Tommaso was rebuilt, together with the presbytery in 1496 and the work was entrusted to mastro Andrea di ser Maso Cavina, while the bell tower with a single bell is recorded in an inventory of 1514.
The present church was rebuilt in 1843 and the bell tower, equipped with four bells and 38 metres high, was built in 1910 to a design by master builder Pietro Sangiorgi from Russi. The church has three altars: above the high altar stands a painting of St Tommaso, one of the earliest works by the painter Giovanni Piancastelli.
The locality of Limisano in the Middle Ages was located on the border between Imola and Faenza districts: its name derives perhaps from this particular position, in fact 'limes' means 'border'.
The first evidence of Limisano dates back to the end of the 12th century and concerns some documents relating to land concessions. The first record of a church in this locality, on the other hand, dates back to 1291: dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, it was called the 'new church' to testify to its recent foundation. This first ecclesiastical building is integrated into the rectory of the present church, rebuilt in 1901 according to a project by architect Anselmo Mongardi.
Nearby, the locality of La Derchia recalls in today's toponym, the ancient castle and centre of Laderchio, which was not just a simple fortress but an inhabited and walled hamlet of great importance from the point of view of the organisation of the territory. This district included, in addition to St Pietro in Sala, the minor centres of Ossano, Limisano, Cuffiano and Riolo. During the second half of the 13th century, the castle was repeatedly disputed between the Faentines and the Bolognans: the two municipalities, already allied in the struggle against Imola, had in fact become rivals by that time. In the following century, it passed to Astorgio Manfredi and then to the municipality of Bologna, which, however, was no longer interested in the area having promoted the fortification of Riolo in 1388 as an alternative centre to control the territory. The importance of Laderchio diminished as the importance of Riolo grew and from the end of the 14th century Riolo represented the new reference point for the area, becoming a centre of organisation and demographic concentration.
The construction of the Badia (Abbey) of St Pietro in Sala by Benedictine monks
dates back to the 9th century.
In the course of time, this monastery became rich and powerful. This is attested by a papal bull of 1187 issued by Gregory VIII, which contains an indication of the many assets, churches and hospitals that depended on it: nine churches and two hospitals, with their relative endowments, located over a vast territorial radius.
Between the 15th and 16th century, the Abbey was also subject to the crisis of monastic property found almost everywhere in Italy. In 1476, the Manfredi of Faenza took away the monastic revenues by force of arms and in 1508 all the abbey's land was leased to a secular person.
Near the abbey stood a hospital, dedicated to Saints Giacomo and Filippo, first attested in 1411; in a later document, dated 1424, this is called " Hospital of Macchio", from the name of the probable founder, a native of Laderchio and in the 17th century the place was also called "Ospitale of the Badia di Riolo".
In 1797, the monastery was sold to the Gottarelli family. Remains of the walls of the old church are incorporated into the current house and a small bell gable with a 15th-century bell is still visible.
The village of Isola, a few kilometres from the centre of Riolo Terme in the direction of Casola Valsenio, lies on the banks of the river Senio. The significant name of this hamlet indicates a river island and refers to the uncultivated and marshy landscape of the early Middle Ages.
Mention of a 'church of Isola', which probably corresponds to the present location, dates back to 1285. The church was later moved up, perhaps following a flood and should be identified with the present church of St. Tommaso of Gallisterna.
Just before Isola, on the Senio river, there is the Bailey bridge, an iron bridge dating back to the Second World War, built to replace the previous one, destroyed to cut connections during the wartime events.
Ca' Castellina is one of the symbolic rural buildings of the Vena del Gesso and is located on the northern slope of Monte Mauro, bordering the blue clays. The earliest known documentary attestation of the settlement is from the late Middle Ages, being cited in a deed of 1473, and nearby there must have been a small chamber with a sacred image from which the property took its name. The nucleus of the original building of peninsular type, to which several other structures were added over time, shows the classic covered external staircase known as the 'balchio'. The stables, located on the ground floor, show slit-like openings and not quadrangular hatches as in the other houses.
In this building, you can see some typical features that characterised constructions from this area: the almost exclusive use of chalk as a building material and as a binder in the masonry; the absence of wells, as the intercepted water resources were usually unusable for drinking purposes due to the excessive amount of dissolved salts; a small number of outbuildings, which can be traced back to the use of small natural cavities as cellars and storerooms.
Nearby is the Castellina doline, a grandiose manifestation of the landscape generated by karstification: at the bottom of the doline a swallow hole opens up, that is a natural funnel capable of channelling surface water deep into the karstic hydrographic network.
Nearby, the archaeological site of Ca' Castellina, a quarry for extracting chalk blocks from the Roman period, is still visible. Excavations carried out over the years by archaeologists and researchers have brought to light chalk blocks and quarrying steps from the Roman period, as well as a rectangular building from the modern period and a considerable quantity of artefacts ranging from the Iron Age to the modern era.
A property called 'Cuffianello' is documented as far back as 854 and it is possible that it corresponds to present-day Cuffiano, known by this name only later. This place was included in the rural district of Laderchio and then, from the 15th century, in that of Riolo.
The village of Cuffiano was without a church until the 17th century: at that time, there was only a small chamber in honour of the Madonna, which was transformed into a proper church in 1633 at the request of the Fantaguzzi family, who remained its rectors and patrons for a long time.
In this hamlet, it is possible to see the remains of an ancient mill built in 1438 under the name of the Marcazzo mill, then the Savurano mill, then the Naldi counts mill and only lastly, the Fantaguzzi mill, as it is known today. The mill ceased its activity in 1970 and is now part of the path of memory through which we wish to remember the "127 days of Riolo": those that, from 5 December "44 to 11 April "45, marked the front line of the Gothic Line for Riolo. The Fantaguzzi mill was in fact the first military objective conquered by the Jewish Brigade after its formation. Afterwards, they liberated Cuffiano, climbed Mount Ghebbio, liberated the Serra of Castel Bolognese and continued towards Imola.
Discover the beauty of a past that still lives today!