A castle of a day

On (what day was it, and does it really matter when you're on holidays?) ... a couple of days ago, we ventured up into the hills of southern Emilia Romagna (borders northern Tuscany) for some hopefully cooler air, and a view of some local castles.


Our first stop was an open-air market in a little town at the feet of the hills, called Traversetolo. The market was very large, but mostly made up of clothing and shoe vendors. Still very fun to walk through. We bought fruit and some sandwich fixings, then headed up into the hills.

UP, literally, by winding switch-backs on a very narrow track. Thankfully there was very little traffic coming the other way! We found the first castle, had our picnic, then took a tour. The view from up there was stunning, and well worth the breathtaking (literally) walk up from the parking area.



This castle was built starting in the 900's, and was a fortress for Matilde di Canossa from around 1046. Matilde, we found out, is a local historical celebrity, who at one time held power over a large area from Tuscany to southern Lombardia. The castle is largely undamaged, as it was built on very solid and enduring ancient lava bedrock. Some living accommodations were added in the 1300's for a family that took over the lands from the Catholic church, to whom the heirless Matilde had left her property.


We decided we had time for one more castle, so we ventured forth on the narrow track to the principal castle in Matilde's little empire, the castle at Canossa. This one is much more in ruins, a result of both violent attack (Matilde was apparently quite the despot), and natural erosion of the much less stable sedimentary rock.

This was a beautiful ruin, and we thoroughly enjoyed our little walk through time and history.

According to some very old documents, it was Matilde who gave the first recorded gift of balsamic vinegar to the visiting emperor Henry IV. Fitting, since this is the land of balsamic vinegar. More on that later, but it involves a visit to the balsamic production facility right here we're staying, and a surprisingly good taste test.