In order to discover fascinating places of the Po River by bike, you can start from Lido di Boretto, a strategic spot to discover the Emilia region and where you can rent bikes. Here you find the Regional Fluvial Tourist Port, located in the central part of the Great River, which flows through the whole region. It is dominated by an impressing industrial archeological complex. It is located just behind the main embankment on which runs the SS 62 Cisa road, which keeps it apart from the historical center of the town.
From the port, following the cycle path on the right of the main road, you can turn towards the river and reach the way that leads to the mouths of the Enza river.
At the Lido Enza tavern you can cycle on a tree-lined and asphalted road, and proceed straight on towards the center of Brescello, the town of the Italian film characters Camillo and Peppone.
In this area you cannot miss the places where the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia is produced.
Following the Great River by bicycle is a way to enter a world of stories, which tell the identity of Emilia.
From the Antica Corte Pallavicina in Polesine Parmense (PR) - where you can rent a bike - a 15 km route leads you throughout the nature of the Po River.
You can cycle along poplar groves, cycle routes and low-traffic roads, up to the Ongina river and the Park of Giarola and Lancone Island, where you can admire woods and water birds.
Going through the Po forest (the flood plain of the farm where black pigs live wildly), you can go back to the Antica Corte Pallavicina in order to visit the Culatello (i.e. cured pork meat) and Masalen Museum, with the famous culatello cellar, that is the oldest in the world.
Here You cannot miss a taste of culatello with a glass of Fortana wine.
The Po route is a 110 km cycle-tourist route in the province of Piacenza. It follows the right bank of the Po river, from the border with the province of Pavia to the border with the Province of Parma, passing through the city of Piacenza, letting the visitor experience a different view of the Lowland.
In the Po river, Serafini Island (PC) is worth a visit: it is the only inhabited area of the Great River, where the recently inaugurated basin allows boats to sail towards the river delta.An immersion in the river landscape is possible having trips by bicycle, on foot, by boat or through other activities organized in collaboration with Adda Sud Park.
A stop at the Giarola Island Park (PC) should not be missed: this artificial lake is surrounded by the typical local trees, like water lilies and water chestnuts. The banks are teeming with elms and poplars.
The bicycle routes (rental service available) lead to the discovery of the park and the shores of the lake, in close contact with the typical fauna of the area: the water is populated by trouts, catfishes, sturgeons and pikes; on the banks you can also admire ducks, herons, swans and even wild rabbits.
During the visit to the Piacenza area, along the Great River, the visitor should not miss the local typical goodies: Po cheese (“cacio”) and Piacenza PDO cheese, the famous Grana Padano and Provolone Val Padana.
Finally, we find the enchanting Castle of San Pietro in Cerro, surrounded by trees and bushes; the castle preserves wonderful ancient and modern treasures, such as those kept in the Armaments Museum and in the MIM, Museum in Motion, a collection of more than one thousand and five hundred works of contemporary Italian and foreign masters (roating display).
