The best MTB trails around Farini

Even before the castle was built, the monks of the Abbey of Bobbio passed through Bardi on their Way to the Sea.

The singular basaltic monolith beneath the Bardi castle is located at the beginning of the Bardi - Borgo Val di Taro stage of the Via degli Abati

If you need to refill your water bottle, it's great and very cool!

http://www.castellodigambaro.it/ The name Gambaro is of Lombard origin and appears for the first time in a diploma of King Ratchis in 747, with which this territory was assigned to the monastery of Bobbio. In the late Middle Ages, Gambaro came into the possession of the Malaspina, a large marquis family originally from Lunigiana that expanded up to the Ligurian-Emilian Apennines. The Malaspina family is responsible for the construction of the current castle (probably at the beginning of 1500), powerful and severe, all in local stone, but also soberly elegant, with the typical Renaissance plan with a central courtyard and four towers at the corners. When the Malaspina of Gambaro died out in 1624, the castle passed to the Farnese ducal chamber and then, in 1687, to the Landi of Rivalta. The Landi, around 1785, sold the castle to the Bacigalupi, a family of Genoese who owned it until the 1930s. During the Napoleonic domination the castle was the seat of the “mairie” (municipality). The members of the Bacigalupi family usually held the position of priest, notary and local administrator. In the twentieth century the castle had various owners, it was the seat of a school and a farm. Finally, from the 1960s it underwent a more serious degradation, abandoned to collapses, demolitions and the removal of valuable architectural elements. The protection constraint was placed by the responsible ministry in 1985. In the last decade it has been restored to obtain a residential and reception place. The town of Gambaro is located in the province of Piacenza, in Alta Valnure at 860 m above sea level, in the municipality of Ferriere, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It is a regional and provincial border area as it borders the provinces of Parma and Genoa. The upper Valnure is wedged to the southwest at the base of the highest mountains of the Ligurian-Emilian Apennines such as Mount Ragola, Mount Bue, Mount Nero, Mount Maggiorasca. From the tops of these mountains on clear days you can see the Ligurian sea. We are an hour's drive from Piacenza and an hour and a half from Chiavari. The village is located four km from the capital Ferriere, on the provincial road n. 654 that leads to Liguria.

A pretty little village with its characteristic castle, a convenient stopover for those taking the Appennino Bike Tour.

Another hill on the Appennino Bike Tour, going up from Farini you find gentle slopes, along the entire ridge before the hill Apennine panoramas galore.

On this path you will encounter a solitary tower near a welcoming meadow followed by a small stream that is easy to cross. This is the Tower of Sant’Antonino, once the bell tower of a small mountain church that unfortunately collapsed today. It is thought that the church was a resting place for pilgrims on their way to Rome, being on the route of the ancient Via degli Abati. For many years, the tower of Sant’Antonino was believed to be a watchtower of the Nicelli family, but it had a completely different origin, even if the soldiers of the noble family certainly used it for this purpose in times after its foundation. An important restoration and redevelopment project, recently completed, has returned the tower to its original beauty. There is also a rather sinister historical fact that concerns it. According to what is reported in the book: “Dell’Historia Ecclesiastica di Piacenza” written by the canon Pietro Maria Campi, the church was deconsecrated in the 15th century following a bloodbath that occurred inside and led to the death of one or more individuals. Today, there are many legends about this disturbing episode…so visit the tower and pay attention. Surely some restless soul still wanders within its walls” (taken from "Trail Valley - La Torre Solitaria" cit. from Walking in Fabula by Umberto Petranca).

Tried it once but the asphalt is terrible, a shame because the climb is beautiful and not very challenging