• Active & Green
    • Art & Culture
    • Food & Wine

Castles and Rice Paddies

A tour of Castles and Rice Paddies in search of a land of exquisite beauty

This itinerary will lead you through a landscape that tells the story of this territory and the labours of the people who live there. This area is known as the Lomellina, a mosaic of water and land, a smooth, flat surface where, amidst the sixty thousand hectares of rice paddies, the escape routes are the banks, the walkways that skim the water are the boundaries and the bridges. The perfectly levelled land of the Lomellina is dotted with villages (almost sixty municipalities and adjoining hamlets) and with vast cascine, the typical farmsteads. The history of the area lies in the effort of the people who, for more than one thousand years, have toiled to level the sandy dunes and the boulders smoothed by the flow of the three rivers (the Sesia, the Ticino and the Po), the basins and the valleys, guiding and channelling the streams and canals. 

A fertile land generous with numerous varieties of quality rice, asparagus, beans, red onions, pumpkins, frogs and salami, all gourmand agricultural products. This substantially manmade landscape is surrounded by natural habitat – such as the Ticino park – where the original ecosystem is being gradually restored, thanks to projects for the conservation of botanical and faunal biodiversity. Tradition, nature and culture (the Lomellina is a treasury of Romanesque and Renaissance art and architecture: historical towns, castles, ancient villages and churches) and history (for significant stretches the roads follow the steps of the pilgrims on the Via Francigena and its fertile fields were also the unforgotten battlefields during the Risorgimento).


Attachments

Scarica l'opuscolo dell'itinerario Castelli e Risaie
Take me here: Castles and Rice Paddies

On the same topic

The high route of Valmalenco - presentation

The high route of Valmalenco is a trekking of 8 stage, around 110 km.
  • Active & Green
The high route of Valmalenco - presentation

The High Route of Valmalenco – 6th stage

Rif. Marinelli Bombardieri (2813 m) - Bocchetta di Caspoggio (2983 m) - A. Fellaria e Rif. Bignami (2382 m)
  • Active & Green
Passaggio dalla bocchetta di Caspoggio

The Wayfarer's Path in Varenna

From Varenna walk along the The Wayfarer's Path and discover this ancient route connecting Lake Como and Valtellina
  • Active & Green
The Wayfarer's Path in Varenna

Hiking with kids in Lombardy - Trails for tourists and athletes

Hiking is an excellent way to enjoy exercise, and Lombardy has some amazing trails for kids and adults to explore in winter. Find out more.
  • Active & Green
Hiking with kids in Lombardy - Trails for tourists and athletes

Nature in Lombardy: five landscapes to die for

  • Active & Green
Bellagio (CO) - Villa Melzi d’Eril

The Patriarch's Greenway Path

An easy walk to discover Varenna and its most charming corners, with unique views on the central lake.
  • Active & Green
The Patriarch's Greenway Path

Oasis of San Giuliano Milanese

Urban oasis of San Giuliano Milanese: the demonstration of the green that wins in the middle of the cement.
  • Active & Green
Oasis of San Giuliano Milanese

Bruschera Oasis

On the shore of Lake Maggiore, it is a small paradise, a place of passage and nesting of various species of birds.
  • Active & Green
Visit the Bruschera Oasis and the cane thickets on Lake Maggiore

Picnics in Lombardy

8 easy picnic places in Lombardy: On the beaches of our lakes, in the cool of the woods, or in the company of dinosaurs!
  • Active & Green
panorama sondrio

Guide Valmalenco

In the Valmalenco Guides group you can find professionals who can accompany you on your adventures whether you are an expert, or simply dream of taking your first step.
  • Active & Green
Guide Valmalenco

Six destinations with surprises

A visit to Lombardy in the autumn means discovering plenty of surprises hidden in the foliage of the woods, lovely castles on the lakes, and city cathedrals, that give you immersive experiences with plenty of mystery and beauty.
  • Active & Green
Six destinations with surprises

Foliage in Lombardy

From Via Francigena to the Cadorna Line. Discover where to see the autumn colours in Lombardy
  • Active & Green
Via Francigena Corte Sant'Andrea Lodi

Kitesurf in Lombardy

Where to do kitesurfing in Lombardy
  • Active & Green
Windsurf, Como lake

Visconti park

The medieval splendor come alive in today's Pavia.
  • Active & Green
Visconti Park

Mounts San Primo and Palanzone

On the highest peaks of the Triangolo Lariano, visitors will enjoy a 360° view of the Alps and of the Po valley
  • Active & Green
Monte San Primo e il Palanzone

Levadina

Walking in the Levadina Oasis of San Donato Milanese, an opportunity to spend an afternoon immersed in nature.
  • Active & Green
Levadina

The Bassone Peat Bog in Albate

The Oasi Torbiere of Bassone di Albate encloses in a few hectares an extreme wealth of very different habitats.
  • Active & Green
The Bassone Peat Bog in Albate

Ice skating in Lombardy

Here's where you can twirl amusement and some fall.
  • Active & Green
Ice Skating

Gardens Brescia

Let yourself be enchanted by the splendor of the green and the thousand colors of the nature of the gardens of Brescia
  • Active & Green
Gardens Brescia, the greener side of Lombardy

Doing sports in Varese

From rowing on the lake to gliding. From cycling to trekking. From golf to horse riding. Tips for playing sports in Varese
  • Active & Green
Doing sports in Varese