Walk under the stars in the Apennines: a journey of romance and beauty

It has something magical about it: like a colossal altar that suddenly rises up out of the landscape of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Or even an impregnable tower, protected by sheer walls that fear no siege, a stronghold in the saga of Matilda di Canossa, the countess who humiliated Emperor Henry IV. The shape of the Pietra di Bismantova has always exuded a magnetic appeal: a large rock drum covered in a green mantle, evoking the fabulous seat of a giant. It also impressed Dante, inspiring a mention in the Purgatorio: On Sanleo’s road/Who journeys, or to Noli low descends/Or mounts Bismantua’s height must use his feet/But here a man had need to fly… This is the starting point of this experience. A moonlit hike in the company of a theatrical actor along the mountain paths around the Pietra, arriving late at night at a refuge. Along the way, listen to the actor read the love poetry of Dante and Petrarch, the other literary giant who travelled to these places during his stay in Parma. Alighieri argued that the wings of desire were needed to reach the summit: this tour allows you to do so on the wings of poetry, sweetening the journey with the “dolce stil novo”. A picnic in the starlight, enhanced - in certain months of the year - by the luminous dance of the fireflies, still protected by the virgin nature of this area. An extraordinary journey full of happy surprises.