The Agriturismo La Piana dei Castagni, in Castel d’Aiano, is the preferred starting point for exploring the most striking locations on the Bologna side of the Apennines.
Labante Caves: a journey to the heart of the earth
A few kilometers from the farmhouse are the Labante Caves, a karst complex of great speleological and naturalistic interest. The caves, formed over millennia by the action of water, offer an impressive spectacle of stalactites, stalagmites and galleries, and house an interesting museum dedicated to speleology.
The waters flowing from a spring mold travertine forming the Caves into a special limestone rock called “sponga.” These are the largest primary caves in travertines in Italy and probably also in Europe.
Above the cave there is also a natural waterfall fed by the same spring, which if observed with the sun behind it, gives a very striking rainbow. The caves are the centerpiece of a park nestled in the green valley, topped by the church of St. Christopher, made entirely of sponga stone.
Rocchetta Mattei: a fairy-tale castle
About a 30-minute drive from the farm stands Rocchetta Mattei, a medieval castle built in the 19th century by Count Cesare Mattei. The Rocchetta, with its eclectic architecture and decorations, looks like something out of a storybook, and offers visitors a unique experience of history, art, and mystery.
An extraordinary manor house with breathtakingly original architecture that has become the subject of studies, European research and TV sets in recent years. Count Cesare Mattei, is also known as the founder of electromeopathy, a discipline through which the castle had become a destination for the treatment of Europe’s leading figures of the time.
In a dominant position in the hamlet of Riola, it can only be visited by appointment.
Borgo La Scola: a plunge into the past
A few kilometers from Rocchetta Mattei is Borgo La Scola, a perfectly preserved medieval village where time seems to stand still. The village, with its stone houses, cobblestone streets, and Romanesque church, offers an atmospheric and authentic atmosphere, and allows visitors to discover how people lived in the mountains in the Middle Ages.
Montovolo: a sacred place between history and nature
Also just a few minutes from Rocchetta Mattei and Borgo La Scola is Montovolo, a mountain sacred since ancient times, which offers breathtaking views of the surrounding valley. At the top of the mountain, there is the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Consolazione, a very ancient place of worship that preserves important works of art.
Also within walking distance is the Oratory of St. Catherine, located not far from the eponymous “leap”: a rocky overhang that opens onto the Reno River valley.
Lake Park: an oasis of greenery and tranquility
About a 40-minute drive from the farmhouse is Lake Park, a protected natural area of great beauty, where there are numerous lakes of glacial origin surrounded by forests and meadows. The park offers numerous opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding, and provides a close-up view of the local flora and fauna.
Corno alle Scale: the highest mountain in the Bolognese Apennines
About an hour’s drive from the farmhouse is Corno alle Scale, the highest mountain in the Bolognese Apennines, at 1,945 meters (3,945 feet). The entire surrounding park area offers countless points of interest: from the Sanctuary of Madonna dell’Acero, Sanctuary of Madonna del Faggio, Lake Scaffaiolo, and village of Tresana, which with its 1,500 hydrangeas at blooming time offers a truly unique spectacle.