The beauty of the Italian Apennines

I love being in Italy in our campervan; I love the food, the coffee, the scenery, the wine and the vibrancy.  Every time we go we find new places to enjoy that seem more beautiful than the last time.  On this trip we were travelling across the country to Ancona where we were catching a ferry to Greece.  After a night on the lovely Ligurian coast, we headed inland to cross the Apennines on the superb SS63.  We stopped to admire the attractive fortified village of Castle Verrucolo and enjoyed the fantastic mountains views from the road.  Camping Le Fonti was the perfect place for a couple of nights; with a friendly welcome, fresh bread ordered, a sketch map of local walks and a pitch with a view of the distinctive Pietra de Bismantova (above), we were happy.  The next day we walked up Monti Ventasso, a 1,727 metre hill behind the campsite.  We walked through beech woods dotted with wood anemone, primroses and wild crocuses, a cuckoo calling in the distance.  Taking the path to Santa Marie Maddalena we crossed an exposed and loose scree slope to the grassy meadow where a refuge and chapel sit under the rocky crags of Monti Ventasso.  The steep narrow and rocky path up the east ridge was airy in places, eventually bringing us out on a wide and grassy ridge to the summit, passing a bizarre wooden hinged figure on the way.  The summit gave us great views of the valley, Pietra di Bismantova and Lago Calamone below.  We descended to the lake, a picturesque and sunny spot where a group of young men were noisily playing football on a slope, the ball regularly fell in to the lake and this seemed part of the game.  We climbed upwards to join our previous path and returned the same way having enjoyed a great day’s walking.

The lovely driving continued until we reached built up areas again at Scandiano.  We found the Camper Club Mutina in Modena, a great and well-run sosta that is close to the city but has views over fields and vineyards and we watched hares and a kestrel from our pitch.  We were given a map which included a cycle route to Modena, about 30 minutes of flat cycling and perfect for seeing the sights of Modena.  Modena is clearly a cycling town, everyone from eight to eighty was out on their bikes and we followed a signed route, the MO1, in to the centre that was always off road.  We parked near the Duomo off the cobbled Piazza Grande in the city centre; an impressive white marble building with intricate carvings.  We ambled around, taking in the sights and I loved the Piazza Roma with its fountains and large shallow pools that reflected the surrounding buildings.  Following the narrow streets we spotted a queue of people outside a shop; further investigation revealed it was for Emilia Cremeria ice-cream, so we had to join in.  After queuing we came away with hand-made cornets of pistachio ice-cream; each cornet is filled with molten chocolate first with the creamy-soft ice-cream on top.  When you have enjoyed the fantastic ice-cream you bite through the fresh biscuit wafer and still have the soft chocolate to finish.  It was delicious and I want all ice-cream to be like this from now on.

We spent our last few nights in Italy at Camping Mar Y Sierra near  to the hilltop town of Mondolfo.  Away from the built up Italian coast this was a glorious spot.  We walked along the Valle dei Tufi route that took us through beautiful countryside and in to the pretty town of Mondolfo and we cycled to the stunning walled town of Corinaldo in the sunshine.  The hot weather bought a tremendous thunder storm one night, with hail bouncing off the roof of the ‘van so loud that we couldn’t hold a conversation and lightning brilliant in the sky.  Our next stop Greece …

Author: Back on the Road Again Blog

I write two blogs, one about my travels in our campervan and living well and frugally and the second about the stories behind the people commemorated in memorial benches. View all posts by Back on the Road Again Blog