• 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

Where to Go Paragliding in Lombardy

A race and a jump in the void. Adrenaline and wonder. Discover where to paraglide in Lombardy
  • Active & Green
Where to Go Paragliding in Lombardy

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

In search of the king of mushrooms

Mushroom hunting in Lombardy. Three foolproof destinations for gathering the most delicious porcini mushrooms: Valtellina, Val Brembana, and Val d'Intelvi
  • Active & Green
Andar per funghi in Lombardia

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

Trekking with Alpacas

Alpacas la Foppa: the first alpaca farm in Valmalenco.
  • Active & Green
Trekking with Alpacas

Places suspended between land and water

Between the trails and panoramic views of the Lombardy countryside, nature meets expanses of water, for a truly unique experience.
  • Active & Green
Luoghi sospesi tra terra e acqua

Lake Iseo

Visit Lake Iseo between art and nature.
  • Active & Green
Lake Iseo

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

Valle Intelvi: 4 excursions in the land between two lakes

The Val d’Intelvi offers visitors some unmissable walking routes that are suitable for everyone to explore on foot or by bike
  • Active & Green
Valle Intelvi

Eight Ideas for a Creative Easter Monday

Easter Monday is a day to spend in company, focusing on discovering original springtime destinations in Lombardy.
  • Active & Green
Ph: I Mille

Greenway Voghera - Varzi

A green way towards the Appennines
  • Active & Green
Greenway Voghera - Varzi

The High Route of Valmalenco – 4th stage

Chiareggio (1612 m) - Rif. Longoni (2450 m) - A. Sasso nero (2304 m) - Rif. Lago Palù (1947 m)
  • Active & Green
Vista sul Lago Palù

Discovering the Big Benches in the province of Pavia

How to reconnect with childhood by rediscovering the landscape with the Big Benches!
  • Active & Green
Big Bench in provincia di Pavia

Levadina

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

Ice skating in Lombardy

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

Ski touring in Valmalenco

Valmalenco is a synonym to ski touring. Every spot of the valley is suitable for nice ascents.
  • Active & Green
Cresta delle Belleviste - Valmalenco

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

Bouldering in Spriana

Spriana is one of the towns of Valmalenco. This is the ideal place for bouldering in spring or fall and is also great for kids, thanks to the park close to the bouldering area.
  • Active & Green
Boulder a Spriana

Where to do Horseback Riding in Lombardy

  • Active & Green
Where to do horseback riding in Lombardy, route suggestions

Lecco from Monte Resegone

Lecco – a city caught between the water and the mountains – is always looking upwards.
  • Active & Green
Resegone