Trail No. 1 - The Old Court in Figno

Information

42019 Scandiano

Route characteristics

Travelling time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Difference in heigth:starting and arrival point: 120 m; maximum altitude: 384 m
Vegetation: stretches of mixed hedges
Fauna: birds of prey, small mammals, hares, pheasants and partridges (introduced for restocking) 
Historical-Cultural highlights: the Court in Figno and the San Fillippo Neri Oratory

Starting point: school of Jano

Route description

The trail starts from Iano, which can be reached from Scandiano by taking the road that leads to Viano. After Iano, turn right into Via Seminario and follow the road to the local elementary school. On the right of the school, take the uphill dirt track and at the first crossroads turn left heading west. After passing a terrace with blackberry brambles, you reach a meadow. From here, you can see a house which you head toward (altitude 208 m). The trail is primarily of scenic interest and looking back, you can see the whole plain, stretching across Scandiano, Monte Evangelo, and Monte del Gesso. From the house, follow the gravel road uphill toward the farming hamlet of Case Figno (30 minutes from the starting point). Continuing along the gravel road, note the interesting furrows on the left (birds of prey can be easily spotted here), and the fumarola pool on the right, surrounded by reeds and cattails. After walking for approximately one hour, you pass a blue gate on the right (altitude 384 m) and walk down the lane heading north. You are now in the animal reserve/hunting area of Cà del Vento, and walking between the two hedgerows lining the fields, you can enjoy views of Scandiano and of beautiful spring blossoms, and may come across animals that have been reintroduced in the reserve such as hares, pheasants, and woodcocks. Keep going right at all the crossroads. On reaching a group of houses known as Bellavista (municipality of Albinea), look out for a beautiful example of Turkey oak (Quercus Cerris) more than a century old. The tree is listed and protected by the regional authority of Emilia Romagna. The road now descends into a wood of pubescent oak where, in the spring, you can see blossoming primroses, hellebores, violets, and dandelion. The dirt road continues downhill and around a few hairpin bends, although you can take the obvious short-cut across the meadow. Keep going right again at the next two crossroads along Via Cà de’ Duchi (the second crossroads has a shrine dedicated to Saint Teresa: you are now in the village of Borzano). A few metres further, leave the dirt road and take the dirt track going east between two meadows. Go past the crossroads on the main road, leading past a few small farmhouses and a stream, and continue up to a crossroads with a shrine. Turn right to reach the Observatory and follow the dirt road up to the area known as “I Cipressi”. Turn left at the crossroads after I Cipressi, and follow the dirt road to the main Iano road which leads to the end of the trail by the elementary school.