My kind of town, Civago

My kind of town, Civago Civago is at 1,011 m above sea level, with Case Cattalini a little higher up. I think it might just be fresh enough for us up here!

Summer in the Pianura Padana can be one of the hottest and most uncomfortable places in the whole of Italy, particularly for very hairy Nordic dogs and their owners, whose thermostat is perpetually on the blink. Drastic measures had to be taken to survive the summer months, so the decision was made to rent a cottage "in the mountains" for me, said hound and two house cats. After much ringing round

and exchanging of emails, we finally found a temporary home that would fulfill the criteria: garden, pets allowed, Internet connection, accessible price...

Welcome to Case Cattalina, my home for the next three months. Case Cattaline form part of the group of hamlets that make up the small town of Civago, situated in the Reggiano Apennines at the innermost point of the narrow valley of the River Dolo, on the road through the Passo delle Forbici on the way to Passo delle Radici and Tuscany. This page intends to share the love of this beautiful and fascinating part of Italy, and show you there's more to Italy than Tuscany.

We've been up Monte Cusna, the second highest mountain in Emilia Romagna at 2120 metres!
27/08/2014

We've been up Monte Cusna, the second highest mountain in Emilia Romagna at 2120 metres!

A really nice, if lengthy walk is one that takes you up past the Rifugio Segheria and on to Passo delle Forbici. It's no...
06/08/2014

A really nice, if lengthy walk is one that takes you up past the Rifugio Segheria and on to Passo delle Forbici. It's not too steep and a lot of it is in the shade. There's not that much to see at the top, but the views up are amazing.

At "home" with the family
06/08/2014

At "home" with the family

Back after a break. Crap weather, little hiking, then busy with a visitor! A little while ago on one of the few hot days...
06/08/2014

Back after a break. Crap weather, little hiking, then busy with a visitor! A little while ago on one of the few hot days, Lumi and I decided to go up to Passo della Croce near Monte Orsaro. I'm afraid to say we gave up the ghost before reaching the top due to the heat and the steepness of the trail. We did manage to take a couple of photos, though :)

16/07/2014

We haven't been getting out that much this past few days because my little Lumi has come into season. We have to pick our destinations where there are unlikely to be other dogs. Yesterday we intended to go up to Passo delle Forbici, but our friends down in town advised us against it, saying that the trail was likely overgrown and possible impassable in parts. We abandoned that idea and decided on a walk up to the two refuges, San Leonardo and La Segheria. We found San Leonardo completely deserted as per, so carried on up towards La Segheria. There were a few people there and it was actually open! Unfortunately the resident mutt was very much in evidence and after initially being quite accommodating, following my cue, Lumi started shunning said dog's advances and clearly wanted to leave. That blasted dog followed us all the way down to the car. An hours' walk!
Back at base, the bar-owner's dog is still whinging, having fallen hopelessly in love with the blonde bombshell that is Lumi, but joy of joys, we had another enthusiastic suitor hanging around in the shape of the local lumberjack's German shepherd called Lupo. After an hour of him being camped out outside the door, I decided to es**rt him back up the road to his dad, who no doubt was wondering where he was. He was full of apology and said he'd keep him tied up, but that wasn't my concern, I was just worried he would wonder where he was. I told him that if Lupo was missing any time, he was likely down in Case Cattalini, wooing my girl :).

So, since this morning was quite sunny, we decided to retrace yesterday's tracks and follow the CAI 609 trail over Monte...
09/07/2014

So, since this morning was quite sunny, we decided to retrace yesterday's tracks and follow the CAI 609 trail over Monte Beccara and down to Ronfrapane. Like I said before, the CAI signage is a bit hopeless in parts... We did manage to find the trail, but not before getting lost in the vast meadow we'd encountered when we tried this trail from the other direction. There is one tree with the red and white CAI paint on it, then nothing, just waist-high grass for acres and acres. Skirting around the edge of this grassland, I finally found what looked like could be the trail out. It wasn't, but it did, fortunately eventually lead to the trail out the other side. Fortunately I recognised it from weeks ago when we tried to scale Monte Beccara before! Still, spotted some likely looking funghi, but didn't pick any because I'm never 100% sure it's the real deal. The trail down towards Ronfrapane offered up its own tribulations with part of it covered with chopped wood. Very helpful. Poor Lumi had no idea how to get over it until I suggested she went around it... All in all, it was quite a long trek, stops for photos and being lost in the meadow notwithstanding, and we were out for a good 2 and a half hours!

08/07/2014

You'll never guess what we stumbled across today! Monte Beccara, no less :D. Between showers, we went up the road in front of the house to an unmarked trail that runs off it that has been beckoning us for a while. Today we ventured up it, and lo and behold, part way up you find a red and white CAI marking indicating trail 609 to Monte Beccara. Why it isn't signed down by the road I'll never know, but really the CAI signage is a bit useless in parts! We went partly up and I think we reached Monte Beccara. I didn't want to go too far as I didn't have the map and although was 99% sure we'd end up down in Ronfrapane, with the weather being a little inclement, I didn't want to risk us ending up too far from home and I hadn't got water, food or phone with me. Still, definitely a trail to follow another day. If you follow it the other way, you end up in Febbio! Although I didn't have any refreshment with me, I was sustained along the way by a bounty of wild strawberries, washed by the summer rain. Yum!

After the mountaineering, it was down to the rifugio for a snack and a rest, where Lumi found 2 errant doggies to play w...
07/07/2014

After the mountaineering, it was down to the rifugio for a snack and a rest, where Lumi found 2 errant doggies to play with and then had a relax with dad.

Saturday was "scale Monte Prampa day". We parked near the Rifugio Monte Orsaro, and up we went on the 1 hour and 15 minu...
07/07/2014

Saturday was "scale Monte Prampa day". We parked near the Rifugio Monte Orsaro, and up we went on the 1 hour and 15 minute climb. What a lovely hike, and well worth the effort with the view from the top at 1698m above sea level!

The weather was a bit strange again on Friday, with very low cloud. I told myself it wasn't going to rain, so we went ou...
07/07/2014

The weather was a bit strange again on Friday, with very low cloud. I told myself it wasn't going to rain, so we went out anyway. We parked up in Roncadello di Sopra and took the CAI trail up to San Geminiano. There's not much up there, just an oratorio and a junction to go on further, and more adventurous hikes. Still, it was a walk, and apart from a couple of spots, didn't rain ;)

When my boyfriend said he'd got a Lamborghini, I didn't expect him to turn up to pick me up in this!!
02/07/2014

When my boyfriend said he'd got a Lamborghini, I didn't expect him to turn up to pick me up in this!!

On Sunday, we headed back to Ospitale to meet up with our friends for an afternoon of music and food.
01/07/2014

On Sunday, we headed back to Ospitale to meet up with our friends for an afternoon of music and food.

Indirizzo

Villa Minozzo
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