Monteveglio

Monteveglio, a district of the scattered municipality of Valsamoggia, stands at the confluence of the Ghia di Serravalle stream in Samoggia, at the foot of an isolated elevation on which the ancient centre with the castle and the abbey stands.

Passing through the walls of the ancient centre, you climb up a paved road between stone houses and gardens to the church of Santa Maria, founded by Matilde di Canossa in the 11th century. Inside, there is an ancient wooden crucifix. It has an evocative four-bay crypt, containing parts of an older sacred building. From the top of the village, the view spans the area of the present-day regional park: 900 hectares of fields and forests, dotted with hamlets and farms. The importance of the area is its preservation of a rural setting of ancient beauty, composed of farm roads and small watercourses, hedges and vineyards, and minor valleys and ridges. A characteristic feature of the landscape are the ravines, eroded areas where the clay soil is exposed and broom flowers are prominent among the flora. The best way to get around is on foot, along the marked paths, or by bicycle on the dirt roads.