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PORRETTA > LE CROCI > CASTELLUCCIO > MONTE PIELLA

Starting from the center of Porretta, follow the indication of the C.A.I. 107 up to Rio Fonti. Continue to the junction for Caprera where you take a road on the right (route C.A.I. 107) that becomes a dirt road before the bridge that crosses the Rio Maggiore at the ruins of the Molino di Palareda (votive aedicule). From here the mule track ascends to Ca ’di Ianni and to the ancient bridge now in ruins on the Rio Merlandoli. Wade the creek by going around the bridge on the right and continue to climb, still following the CAI signs, until you reach Le Croci, an ancient village with tower houses. Here is the birthplace of Giuseppe Guglielmo Marconi’s father, indicated by a marble plaque.

For an easy road, always uphill, you then cross the hamlets of Ca ‘di Marsili, Ca’ Minghetti, Gaggiano di Sotto and last Gaggiano di Sopra where the path turns sharply to the left, first on a path with a marshy bottom and then along a path in the woods up to Castelluccio. The village stands on the right above us with its characteristic profile dominated by the church built on an overhanging cliff. Continue to the bottom of the village and then uphill along the mule track and a few paved ramps.

Castelluccio dominates, from a ridge at 810 m. of height, all the surrounding valleys. There is a splendid view of the highest mountains of the Bolognese Apennines from Monte Grande to Nuda, up to the unmistakable east face of Corno alle Scale. Walking through the narrow alleys and the characteristic voltoni you can breathe an atmosphere of other times. The Church of S. Maria Assunta, the Manservisi Castle and the Laborantes Ethnographic Museum are worth a visit.

Continuing along the C.A.I. 107 path we arrive outside the town to a Cappella that acts as a traffic island, turning left we pass the Terzo locality and climb up to at an altitude of 1,100 meters where the CAI path begins 107 which arrives at Monte Piella (1,196 m. S.l.m.) on top of which is the cross restored by the Alpini Group of Porretta Terme on 26 September 1976 and dedicated to the fallen of all wars. Here the Pro Loco of Capugnano has recently installed a telescope and an orientation table that allow you to fully enjoy the splendid panorama.

You will return to Porretta Terme in about 3 hours, going backwards, downhill, the path made uphill.