MONTEVEGLIO |  Bologna

Beautiful is the ancient village of Monteveglio, where time seems to have stopped to bring us back to the Middle Ages: still today its military origin is evident, with the castle in a raised position for a more effective defense and the houses perched around. The entrance to Monteveglio passes through the ancient arched door, where you can still see the anchorages for the drawbridge, now disappeared, and a crenellated tower, from which you can admire the beautiful panorama of the valley.
Monteveglio is located near the Regional Park of Abbazia di Monteveglio, a little gem among the many Regional Parks in Emilia Romagna: this is in fact the smallest, but despite everything, inside it you can find all the variety of landscapes that characterizes the entire region. Following the many well-marked paths that wind through it, you can cross cherry and vineyard woods, brusquely interrupted by the outcrop of the badlands, very ancient and very frequent geological formations in the area, which give the territory an extremely particular appearance. The paths that cross the Park have been divided according to the various levels of difficulty, and can be traveled either on foot or by mountain bike: among these we find four Nature Trails and seven Itineraries, which mark the different habitats that are part of the protected area and highlight the most evocative landscapes. Among these, of course, there is the one that leads to the magnificent Abbey of Santa Maria Assunta, one of the oldest Bolognese diocese, built at the behest of Countess Matilde di Canossa: the style is Romanesque and the interior is divided into three naves that are above a crypt, characterized by three apses and four spans of columns. Two cloisters, one of the fifteenth century, with a double loggia and an older one, from which one can admire the panorama of the valley below, are part of the Abbey.