It is a small centre in the low part of the Trebbia Valley and it lays on the left shore of the homonymous river. It is part of a large area called “The Four Apennine Provinces”, where the mountains of the provinces of Piacenza, Genoa, Alessandria and Pavia meet.
History and tradition bind indissolubly the fate of Piacenza's patron Saint Anthony with this small village, where, it is supposed, he was martyrized in 303 a.C.
Nowadays it is a charming walk for those who want to go hiking, climbing or simply walking.
Summertime is the best time to visit Travo beacuse the village is enlivened by many one-day tourists, escaping the hot city weather. It is possible to swim in the river and walk along the Path of the Gods, so called because a legend of ancient times said it led to the old Medician Minerva Temple.
Saint Anthony’s Church is more than a thousand years old and is engraved as a precious stone in the heart of the village, with a unique balcony-church square and an unusual view over the river, especially beautiful at sunset.
The Anguissola Castle, nowadays a property of the municipality, was the historic residence of the important and prominent old family that governed Travo for over five centuries. Since 1997 part of the castle has been used as the home of the Civic Archeological Museum: inside you can retrace the history of the population of the whole area in the time lapse from the Palaeolithic to the Early Middle Ages.
In town and nearby you can taste typical local food with PDO, DOC and PGI brands on the Route of wines and tastes of Piacenza hills.
In Rivergaro there are many possibilities to practice sports in dedicated structures and outside. Not far from the town, there is a sports centre that has a football pitch, tennis courts, and an outdoor swimming pool for the summer.
The area around Travo is characterized by trekking paths, the most important and must-visit ones are two peaks which dominate the valley: Pietra Perduca (659 m) and Pietra Parcellara (836 m), with ophiolic rocks also called the Devil’s rocks. In Cernusca (4,6 km from Travo) there is a riding school that offers riding lessons and horse riding for adults and kids.
In addition to the patron’s fair on 4th July, that is closely connected to Piacenza’s one, Travo is well known for the Book Festival Giana Anguissola and for the exposition called Travo Vintage- local market of reuse, which takes place every Tuesday evening in the months of July and August.
The small district of S. Andrew is a recommended stop. It overlooks the west shore of the Trebbia river, a few hundred meters from the town. Here stands the small St. Mary’s Church, with its important remains of the Romanesque past, and the Archelogical Park, with remains of houses of the Neolithic age.
Not far from Travo, following the sign for Bobbiano, you can climb the valley through a path that leads to Perduca peak, where the fifteenth century oratory stands out embedded in the serpentine rock. It is worth a visit expecially on Saint Anna’s day (26th July) and on Saint Mary of the Assumption’s day (15th August), when it is open to the public.
