Parco fluviale del Po tratto vercellese/alessandrino
e Riserva Naturale del Torrente Orba

Self-guided Itinerary in Parco fluviale del Po vercellese/alessandrino

Parco Fluviale del Po e dell'Orba has always been active in promoting naturalistic and didactic tourism in the protected area, and it has recently published a folder offering the opportunity to discover the historical, naturalistic, and agricultural aspects of one of the most characteristic areas of the Po vercellese/alessandrino. The route develops among the plain of the Vercelli area and the last layers of the Monferrato casalese, astride the territory of Alessandria and Vercelli, including the Municipalities of Morano sul Po, Camino, Pontestura, and Trino.
The river is the linking element between the plain and the hill, but it is also and above all the reading key of important historical, artistic, human, and naturalistic events which occurred during the centuries.
It is a pleasant and relaxing itinerary for everyone, and you can go through it according to your needs, on foot, by car along some stretches, or completing a ring-route by bike (the most suitable one is the mountain bike).
Along the route, some informative notice boards give detailed information on the most interesting aspects of these places: Grangia di Pobietto, the rice cultivation, Camino Castle, Tenuta Gaiano, the adjacent naturalistic areas.

The folder (complete with cartography, description of the itinerary and detailed information on the historical, naturalistic, and agricultural aspects of the territory) is available free of charge at the Park Offices:

• Administrative Offices - Piazza Giovanni XXIII, 6 - Valenza (AL) - Tel. 0131/927555
  Operative Office and Visitor Center - Viale Lungo Po Gramsci, 10 - Casale Monferrato
  (AL) - Tel. 0142/457861
• Operative Offices and Visitor Center "Cascina Belvedere" - ex S.S. 494 - Frascarolo (PV) - Tel. 0384/84676
• Operative Offices and Visitor Center "Mulino comunale" - Via Marconi, 10 - Bosco Marengo (AL) - Tel. 0131/299712

or can be sent by previous request, by contacting the Settore Fruizione of the Park Authority, at "Cascina Belvedere" - Tel. 0384/84676 - Fax 0384/84754 - E-mail: centro.visita@parcodelpo-vcal.it

Along the River Po by Bike

Eight cycling itineraries along not very busy town and provincial roads, non-ashpalt coastal roads, and banks. This network characterizes the whole area of the river Po in the provinces of Vercelli and Alessandria and offers tourists many different views and habitats.
Itineraries 1 and 2 (from the bridge of Pieve del Cairo to the one of Valenza through Bassignana) and itinerary 3 (from the bridge of Valenza to Frassineto Po) are ideal itineraries for bird watching. Tourists will cycle among riparian woods, the beautiful confluence of the Po with Sesia and Tanaro, herons, ducks, cormorants, and common terns.
Itineraries 4 (Casale Monferrato - Coniolo - Casale), 5 (Pontestura - Camino - Pobietto - Pontestura) and 7 (Trino - Rocca delle Donne - Cantavenna - Fontanetto Po - Trino) offer wonderful views: from Monferrato hills it is possible to enjoy a view going from the rice fields to the Alps. In the surroundings, woods, vineyards, orchards, and vegetable gardens. Along the river, poplar woods and the possibility to cross the river by a rope ferry which, as in the past, links Fontanetto to Gabiano.

It is possible to go along Itinerary 8 (Crescentino - Piagera di Gabiano - Moncestino - Verrua Savoia - Crescentino) only by ferry from the left side to the right one and back. The hills are another element of interest which adds to the rice fields and the rural settlements in the Itineraries 6 and 6bis (Trino - Crescentino and Bosco della Partecipanza); the so-called "mare a quadretti" (squared sea) can be admired when the rice fields are flooded, with the ancient charm of the residual plain forest together with the system of the Cistercian fields.

The itineraries are not very long and they are suitable also for less trained cyclists, making them shorter thanks to the different links existing among the itineraries. The spirit of the initiative "In bici sul Po" is not the competition: a relaxing trip with several stops, with binoculars and camera.

Parco Fluviale del Po Tourist Area

It includes 47 Municipalities near the river Po. The river goes beyond the province of Torino through the provinces of Vercelli and Alessandria linking them with Lomellina in the province of Pavia. In this way, among nature tourists can also find history, local cultures, and typical products for which the common element is the river Po. For a first tour at the discovery of Area turistica (tourist area), four itineraries by car allow a complete visit along not very busy national and provincial roads with frequent and evident indications.