Emilia Romagna – DJmotortouring

Having made the decision to stay ahead of the rain by driving further east, we arrived next at Rivergaro in the Emilio-Romagnia Region. Those words almost make it seem as if we stumbled on Rivergaro by chance but, that was certainly not the case. Vanya puts consierable effort into finding unusual and interesting campsites and she did it once again with the Agriturismo L’Urteia in Rivergaro.

The Agriturismo L’Urteia is a model farm at the northern edge of Rivergaro which, over a period of time, has been developed further to include holiday lets, a small shop and a restaurant and, most recently, a small campsite which can currently accommodate 8 or 9 motorhomes (no caravans) and a few tents. It is well set out, spotlessly clean and has all the facilities that campers might need. The farm also brews their own range of craft beers. It’s a great little place within easy walking distance of the town too.

Rivergaro is a small town of some 7,000 inhabitants on the River Trebbia. It is considered to be the gateway to the Piacenza Hills and by extension to Emilio-Romagnia’s best Piacenza Wines. Vanya and I were pleasantly surprised by the local wines. I particularly liked the Gutturnio which is a soft red wine made from a blend of the locally grown Barbera and Bonarda (sometimes called Croatina) grapes while; Vanya was impressed by a fizzy white wine made entirely from the local Ortrugo grape known as Ortrugo dei Colli Piacentini. Both of the wines we tried are produced by a local family business ‘Podere Le Lame’ and came recommended by Marco, the owner of the Caffe Italia in Rivergaro.

The town has a few interesting features being, the 19th century Parochial Church of Santa Agata on Via San Rocco; the 17th century Oratario San Rocco Pellegrino also on Via San Rocco and; the Santuario della Beata Vergine della Grazie (sometimes referred to as simply the Madonna della Grazie) which is up above the Piazza Paolo on Via Castello. The most pleasant part of the town for me however is the main square through which the Via Roma passes. This is where many of the locals socialise around noon and/or during the evening. I was delighted to be able to sit on the square early in the afternoon drinking coffee and again in the evening when Vanya and I had something to eat at the Caffe Italia. Lively town squares such as this are what make Italy.

Rivergaro’s principal square. I can tell you nothing about the statue

Throughout our short stay in Rivergaro, the weather was changeable (that’s a euphemism for “often wet”) but, it certainly didn’t deter the locals from getting out and about and the welcome we received from Marco in the Caffe Italia that evening was great. He simply couldn’t do enough for us and, after hearing that we didn’t have time to visit the Podero Le Lame winery to buy a bottle or two of the white wine which Vanya was enjoying so much, he gave us some at cost price. This is a place we will return to and we’re agreed that the ‘Urteia’ be classified as an Excellent Campsite. (https://www.urteia.it/en/camping)

Journey from Villagio Sanghen wasn’t too far (126 miles) and mostly by the Autostrada but longish stops first at Lidl and then a motorway service station for lunch saw us arrive at Dozza in the Emilia-Romagna Region much later than we expected. Rather than rush around the place, we decided to spend the night in the Van on a very quiet and secluded car park on the west side of Dozza and leave the trip to the coast until the next day. That gave us time to properly explore the town during what was left of the afternoon and then return in the evening for a meal in a local restaurant.

Not far from Imola, Dozza is a small hilltop town overlooking the Sellustra Valley. It’s houses are built along the lines of old castle walls in a long thin shape which taper at both ends, almost like a spindle. At the eastern end of the spindle is an entry arch and at the western end, connected by two almost parallel cobbled streets, is the Rocca Sforzesca – Rocca Fortress. It is almost wholly pedestrianised with only the locals who live between the entry arch and the castle allowed to drive in the town.

It is magical – a medieval village doubling as an open air art gallery. More than 100 (some say 200) brightly coloured frescoes decorate it’s houses, shops and municipal buildings. There’s an abundance of colour everywhere you look but it is not graffiti style street art; it is far more. It is all to do with the “Biennale del Muro Dipinto”, a festival of painted walls which takes place in September every two years and which sees famous national and international artists descend on the town to paint permanent works on the walls of publicly and privately owned buildings. It is a street art museum and quite wonderful. Sod’s law – It’s been taking place every two years since 1960 and it was supposed to take place this year but it is a casualty of Covid.

Some of the artwork had me spellbound…see above

Not just murals…

It cost 5 euros but I just had to pop into the Rocca Sforzesca (Rocca Fortress). The original fortress was built 1250 but extended significantly some 250 years later and then remodelled again in the 16th century when the Malvezzi-Campeggi family sought to transform it into more of a dwelling place than a castle. Most of what you can see now is 15th century. With the exception of the dungeon and the kitchen which are packed with their respective fixtures and fittings the inside of the castle is quite sparsely furnished but there is enough there to provide a real mood about the place and everything is authentic.

Views across the countryside from the top of the fortress are breathtaking and the light was, I imagine, an artists dream. Although dotted with small woods of Oak, Chestnut and Ash the rolling countryside is largely cultivated with a mix of wheat fields, strawberry plantations, apricot and peach orchards and, of course dominating everything, an abundance of grape vines. This is the land of the Sangiovese and Trebbiano di Romagna reds and the Albana and Pignoletto white wine. Vanya will be interested in the Pignoletto (Grechetto) which is this Region’s Sparkling Wine or Frizzante. Not to be confused with Spumante, “Frizzante is softer, rounder and has frothier bubbles” or so I am told.

Talking of wine, the basement of the fortress holds an Enoteca (regular readers of this blog will perhaps recall the Enoteca I visited in Tuscany 2 years ago – that one cost me a small fortune). We were more prudent this time – just 4 bottles; 3 for Vanya and 1 for me.

That evening we left the dogs sleeping in the van for a couple of hours while we walked back into Dozza for something to eat. The cuisine in this region, Emilia-Romagna, is considered among the best in Italy. Particular products include Parma Ham (Prosciutto), Parmisan Cheese, Modena Balsamic Vinegar and some famous Tagliatelle Pasta dishes that Vanya was keen to try.

We found a very welcoming trattoria, Osteria di Dozza, with the chef coming out of the kitchen to explain the dishes (we cannot read Italian and the rest of the staff could not handle English). We chose a local cheese board to start with and then Vanya went for the Tagliatelle while I opted for grilled leg of mutton with garlic & rosemary potatoes.

The town was as magical in the evening as during the day…

What is most amazing about Dozza is that it is not at all touristy. There are no coachloads of tourists (we appeared to be the only visitors in the place during both the afternoon and evening) and absolutely no souvenir shops. It remains a simple village without any of the chaos and stress that now seems a part of everyday life. I do hope we find more like this one.

Tag: Emilia Romagna

Rivergaro (Emilio-Romagnia), Italy September 2025 (Tour 12)

Dozza (Bologna), Italy September 2020 (Tour 3)