Unknown Villages and Magic Castles

What better way to start the day than a nice walk in Parma's historic park? Also called "The Garden", this green space is home to centuries-old trees and wide avenues where locals stroll, play sports, and read.
The beautiful Ducal Palace that dominates the park is impossible to miss, but don't miss the Tempietto d'Arcadia, the Palazzetto Eucherio Sanvitale, and Boudard’s Gruppo del Sileno sculpture.

Parma's history can be felt in this place: an ancient temple stood here, later replaced by Parma's first Christian church. It was later deconsecrated and used as the headquarters of associations aimed at caring for the poor and needy.
Today the Oratory houses the beautiful Florilegium, a work by British artist Rebecca Louise Law. Florilegium is a floral installation made up of 200,000 flowers, representing the citizens of Parma. The flowers are dried and hang down from the painted vault of the Oratory, creating a very special effect indeed. Not to be missed!
Opening Hours: Saturday – Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Monday – Friday: Closed
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The road to this hidden wonder passes through several small villages in the Modena environs and offers a glimpse of daily life. Small shops, parents rushing to take their children to school, coffee hastily consumed at the counter, or slow breakfasts at small tables in the sun.
Nonantola Abbey hides very well indeed in one of these simple villages where life flows slowly or quickly depending on the time of day.
And its magnificence is even better hidden behind its austere façade, which leaves to the imagination what the visitor will find inside.
As soon as you cross the threshold, however, you enter another world: the tall columns and perspective push the view towards the apse and the wooden ceiling. This place exudes elegance and simplicity, and seems to immediately take the visitor back twelve centuries. You can’t help but think of Umberto Eco and his “The Name of the Rose” because of the atmosphere here.
As you walk down the nave, you have the opportunity to admire statues and paintings up close, but be prepared to gasp as you go down the steps (to the right or left of the apse) to reach the abbey's crypt.
The 64 white columns look like trees, and the arches that join them look like their branches coming together and intertwining in a forest. At each step, the perspective is different and is sure to leave you speechless.
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Leave your car here to explore the small town of Castelvetro di Modena.

Cuisine closely linked to the local area, a menu of local delicacies, and a very long wine list is what you’ll find at Locanda del Feudo.
It will be difficult to choose which dishes to taste, but it will also be difficult to choose which room to be seated in.
The main room is brighter while the tavern room is warm and cosy, but, for a truly special experience, ask to be seated at the cellar table, usually reserved for relatives and friends of the owners but which can also be reserved in advance by outside guests.
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday: lunch and dinner Monday: Closed
Reservations recommended, please follow this link.

Castelvetro di Modena is one of those places that seem to have been forgotten by the world.
A handful of houses, two or three cobbled streets, a main square, a church, and a wonderful view of the surrounding hills.
Most likely you won’t meet a soul, and you’ll wonder where everyone has gone, but that’s what characterizes villages like this one.
If you've ever wondered what a typical Italian village off the tourist trail looks like, Castelvetro di Modena will answer that question: completely authentic, quiet, and with a relaxed atmosphere and no souvenir stores for tourists.

Rocchetta Mattei has all the air of an enchanted castle, nestled in the Emilian countryside. The active itinerary is enchanting in itself, and you feel like stopping at every turn, so beautiful is the scenery.
The castle makes you forget you are in Italy, its arabesque spires and battlements make you dream of distant worlds, and you can’t tell if you’re in Andalusia, Morocco, or some strange corner of the world.
A dream, indeed – that of Count Mattei, who specifically chose this place for the construction of his rocchetta.
And the dream continues inside, where you breathe the air of faraway lands that you tasted outside: the columns of the Hall of Peace are inspired by the Cathedral of Córdoba, while the Courtyard of Lions, even in its name, recalls the Alhambra in Granada.
The various rooms will leave you breathless with their colours, decorations, symmetries, and eccentricities.
A unique castle in Italy, not to be missed.
Opening Hours: Saturday – Sunday: 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (last entry 4:30 p.m.) Monday – Friday: Closed
By reservation only.
Contact the following numbers to book a private guided tour: +390516730335, +393661433941, (weekend: +393517373891).
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The riches of Florence are endless, and a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to explore them all! Returning to this city is always exciting because it never ceases to amaze and fascinate even the most seasoned traveler.
The parks and gardens in and around the city are one of these riches, and because we usually stop to visit the world-famous Boboli Gardens, we tend to overlook the dozens of other Medici villas and parks found in this wonderful area.
And, in fact, today you’ll discover Villa Demidoff, just a few miles from Florence, often overlooked by visitors who stop in the historic centre.
The work that most represents the park is the Colossus of the Apennines, which represents the mountain and seems to have come out of the mountain. Beneath it is a pond with rose water lilies – you couldn’t find anything more photogenic if you tried!
There are Italian and English gardens, large green lawns where locals relax to read or have a picnic outdoors.
Opening Hours: April to October Friday – Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Monday – Thursday: Closed
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The Gherardesca Palace is a villa set in a beautiful park.
The palace now houses a luxury hotel and one of the finest and most popular restaurants in Florence, Il Palagio.
Opening Hours: Accessible to hotel and restaurant guests.

The restaurant, located in the beautiful setting of the Gherardesca Palace, occupies the old stables.
Here nothing is left to chance: from the silver cutlery to the crystal glasses, from the soft colours of the fabrics to the uniforms of the staff, Il Palagio strives to welcome and impress its guests, and succeeds in doing so to perfection.
The menu is closely linked to the Tuscany region, with some hints of Emilia-Romagna, in a combination of tradition and modernity, research and spontaneity that makes you close your eyes and engage all your senses.
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday: 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. Sunday: Closed
Reservations recommended, visit this link.

The terrace overlooking the city would be enough to make this hotel a magnificent place to stay at in Florence.
But then you add the impeccable service, the very central location, a fantastic breakfast, and Plaza Hotel Lucchesi becomes the place you want to come back to!
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