Cycle route ALBACO – The wellness itinerary

The route passes through Alfonsine, where one can encounter the birthplace of the well-known Italian neoclassical poet Vincenzo Monti. It is a colonial building that houses a museum dedicated to him and is also the starting point for exploring the Riserva Naturale di Alfonsine (Natural Reserve) with its rich fauna and flora. 

Along the route there is one of the three stations of the Natural Reserve, called Fascia boscata del Canale dei Mulini (Wood area of Mills' Canal). It consists of the last section of the Canale dei Mulini (Mills' Canal), which is protected by dense vegetation and delimited by the nineteenth-century Chiavicone della Canalina.

In the center of the town, the Museo della Battaglia del Senio (Museum of the Battle of the Senio) is an unmissable stop, for a total immersion in the period of World War II, with a focus on the significant permanence of the front in Romagna, along the Senio river valley, that represents, for Alfonsine and the other small towns along it, the place of Memory.

Curiosity
In Tebano, in the hills of Faenza, the Canale dei Mulini begins; it runs through Bassa Romagna and ends at Chiavicone. For some mysterious reason, many of the so-called “Pipistrelle di Tebano” (a species of bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), when pregnant, fly the entire length of the Canale dei Mulini to Chiavicone della Canalina, choosing it as their breeding ground.

To know
The Battle of the Senio River, fought in 1945 along its banks, marked a decisive phase in Italy’s liberation from Nazi-Fascism, and its impact is still felt today in the collective memory and the landscape of the area.

The itinerary continues toward Bagnacavallo, along the Canale Naviglio Zanelli (Naviglio Zanelli Canal) bicycle path. Here, the countryside is tinged with a variety of colors depending on the season and is enriched by the presence of an old donkey bridge, the last vestige of the existence of one of the eleven sluices built at the time the canal was created in the late 18th century, and an old mill.

Must sees

• Pieve di San Pietro in Sylvis (San Pietro in Sylvis parish church)
  Passing through the small and charming town center, which retains its medieval structure, the route leads to the ancient Pieve which is the best-preserved parish church in the area around Ravenna and houses precious 14th century frescoes attributed to Pietro da Rimini.
• Podere Pantaleone (Ecological Rebalancing Area)
  Not far away from the Pieve, there is an outdoor educational museum where the human presence is limited to the area near the entrance and the local fauna und flora have freely grown, creating an habitat of great enviromental interest. It has become a refuge for many species of birds in winter, during migrations.

Events
Every year in May and June, Podere Pantaleone invites you to join Natura nella notte, a series of enchanting nature walks to discover the natural oasis’s nocturnal wildlife, including fireflies, owls, and bats.

To reach Conselice (third stop), the itinerary crosses the Lugo countryside, encountering the Chiesa di Ascensione (Ascension's church) with its 16th century frescoes, the Castello del Ducato di Fabriago (Ducato di Fabriago's castle) and the Antica pieve - Chiesa di Campanile (Campanile's parish church) which is one of the oldest rural parish churches in the area around Ravenna, with its majestic 11th century cylindrical bell tower.

In the area around Conselice, one can visit the Bosco Urbano (Conselice's wood) that is an Ecological Rebalancing Area where birds and bats can breed, and it's arecreation of the original marsh environment of the area, with groves and wetlands.

Once in the town center, one can find a very symbolic monument, that commemorates the story of more than 140 women and men involved in the clandestine printing complex of Bassa Romagna during World War II. It is the Monumento alla stampa clandestina e alla libertà di stampa (Monument to the Clandestine Press and Press Freedom).

Events
Every year on October 1st, Conselice celebrates the Festival della Libertà di stampa to honor the clandestine printers who worked during the Liberation struggle.