The Via Matildica del Volto Santo in the Reggio Apennines

The Via Matildica del Volto Santo links Mantua to Lucca by way of the Apennines, and although it connects places of great historical weight it remains a niche walk. The fame of the Tuscan routes, the Via Francigena above all, has left in the shade this itinerary that nonetheless crosses the fiefs of Matilda of Canossa, one of the most powerful figures of the European Middle Ages. To walk it today means having to yourself villages, parish churches and ridges that elsewhere would be besieged.

The land of Canossa

The heart of this walk is the Reggio countryside. From Reggio Emilia the route heads towards the hills and slowly climbs along the Enza valley and the surrounding heights. An unmissable stop is Canossa, where the ruins of the celebrated castle tower over the badlands: it is the site of Emperor Henry IV's humiliation before the pope in 1077, one of the best-known episodes in the clash between empire and Church. Not far away stands the castle of Rossena, with its tower, and the whole landscape of crags and sandstone that makes this stretch unmistakable.

The Romanesque parish churches

Continuing on, you come upon the Romanesque parish churches that dot the Reggio Apennines. They are simple, sturdy churches, built between the 11th and 12th centuries, often isolated in ridge-top villages. The parish church of Toano, the parish church of Campiliola and other religious sites tell of the dense network of places of worship that organised these mountains in Matilda's time. Along the way you pass through villages such as Carpineti, itself dominated by a Matildic castle, where the countess held courts and diets.

Climbing towards the Apennine watershed the landscape changes: the badlands give way to chestnut and beech woods, ridge-top meadows and stone villages. The pass towards the Garfagnana and the Lucca area marks the crossing from the Emilian side to the Tuscan one, and from there the walk descends towards Lucca, which holds the Volto Santo, the wooden crucifix that gives the whole way its name and that was already a pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages.

The Reggio and Parma Apennine stretch is walked following the waymarking of the route, with stages that link villages and parish churches. It is not a high-mountain itinerary, but it demands trained legs for the constant ups and downs typical of the Apennines. It's wise to check in advance on the stopping points and the accommodation, because on some ridge stretches services are sparse: this is part of the charm, but it must be reckoned with.

Getting there

Getting there is convenient: Reggio Emilia is on the Via Emilia rail and motorway line, well served too by high-speed trains. From here local buses reach the villages of the hills and the Apennines, useful for those who want to walk only some of the stages without doing the whole route. Those with more days can instead set off from Reggio and climb gradually towards the ridge, experiencing the gradual passage from the plain to the mountains.

When to go

The ideal time is late spring or autumn. May offers flowering meadows, badlands still green and mild temperatures for the climb; September and October bring the colours of the foliage on the beech and chestnut woods, clear air and a low light that brings out the crags of Canossa. These are months when the Apennines are already silent, far from the summer tourism of the better-known destinations, and the villages return to a slow, genuine rhythm. Summer can be sultry in the hills, while winter makes the ridges cold and the services even more reduced.

A practical tip: devote at least one long stop to Canossa and Rossena on the same day, ideally in the afternoon, when the warm light sets the badlands aglow and the tour coaches have already departed. Carry supplies of water and something to eat on the ridge stages, because between one village and the next you may find nothing open, especially out of season.