Parco dei Cento Laghi
Agriculture Itinerary
It is a not very demanding itinerary developing in the area of Val Bratica, in the north-east of the town of Casarola (Municipality of Monchio delle Corti) for about two hours.
It leads the visitor to discover and appreciate some of the typical landscapes of the Apennine chain, places which have been wisely shaped by man and which still nowadays witness the agricultural history of this area. The imposing centuries-old fruit chestnut groves, the typical dry-stone walls, the several dryhouses (small stone buildings where chestnuts were dried), the meadows, the pastures, and the precious "maestà" with votive icons, are all "signs" of the millennial balance between man and nature.
Notice boards and panels illustrate the most characteristic aspects of the agricultural, sylvicultural, and stock-rearing local traditions.
The chestnuts and the chestnut grove are the central elements of this itinerary and to them detailed descriptions and didactic information are dedicated (biology and ecology of the chestnut grove, illness, graftings and varieties, the processing cycle of the chestnut...).
The itinerary leaves from the town of Casarola, near the "book-shaped" notice board where you can look at the topographical map of the path following the dirt road leading to Montebello and, after about 800 meters, reaching the chestnut wood where the Park has created important structures for the enhancement and the exploitation of this precious and typical environment.
Four old dryhouses have been restructured: two of them have been transformed into bivouacs (eight beds), one is used for the toilets, and the last one as a didactic dryhouse with an area provided with tables, benches, and barbecue. Going downhill, on the left of the route, there is another area equipped with tables, barbecue, and fountain, and nearby, some areas to place tents. Then the itinerary turns right and the uphill path leading outside the chestnut grove begins, and reaches a mixed broadleaf trees wood (oaks, cherry tree, beech...) bordered by meadows and meadows-pastures.
The view towards the upper Val Bratica and the imposing rocky wall of Groppo Sovrano is wonderful: here, if you are lucky and have a good binoculars, you can sight the Golden Eagle.
When the downhill path ends, it is possible to rest in a small area where there is a didactic-demonstrative charcoal pile, whose working is described on a panel.
The itinerary continues across the meadow-pastures where, in summer, the silence is broken by the ringing of the grazing cows. In a short time you will be the town of Casarola, where the path began.
