Itineraries
On "Marconi's Waves"
The madman of Pontecchio, as the inhabitants of the area called him, later became a symbol of Sasso Marconi thanks to the fame and scientific successes he achieved which led him to the Nobel Prize. The paternal house, the room in which his grandfather raised the silkworms which he transformed into a laboratory, the Celestini hill from which he sent the first "wireless" signal, are the places where Guglielmo Marconi carried out the first experiments in wireless radiotelegraphy.
Villa Griffone – Marconi Museum, Marconi's paternal home where the museum dedicated to the scientist is located
Colle dei Celestini - place where the first wireless telegraphy experiment was carried out Marconi Mausoleum
Church of Montechiaro - backdrop to the mysterious murder of Marconi's uncle
Parco Marconi - garden with games based on Marconi's experiments
Along the Rhine
Since ancient times, the paths along the rivers have been used as communication routes. This was the case for the Reno valley, which allowed connections and traffic between the plain and the Apennine ridge. Today this walk is ideal for a relaxing day and offers an extremely rich and varied landscape. Starting from historical-artistic testimonies, the path runs along the scenic rock face of Balzo del Prunarolo, within which the Roman aqueduct is located, and the steep walls of the gullies of Sabbiuno and Pieve del Pino. The path does not present particular difficulties but guarantees a rather picturesque natural landscape.
Palazzo De Rossi – late fifteenth century palace in late Gothic style
Vizzano Bridge - suspension bridge over the Rhine, built in 1930
San Gherardo Natural Oasis - nature reserve created from a former quarry with the possibility of birdwatching
Talon Park - precious green lung of great environmental quality
The Mastelletta Route
Giovanni Andrea Donducci (baroque painter), known as Mastelletta, spent a good part of his life in Sasso Marconi. He is remembered because between 1613 and 1614 he contributed to the decoration of the chapel of the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna. In the early 17th century, Mastelletta stayed in the Tintoria area (in Sasso Marconi) in search of peace. However, he had not taken into account the sound of the whistles, wind instruments played by shepherds, so much so that, after futile protests, he decided to buy them. From that moment, numerous farmers showed up at his house with the sole purpose of selling the whistles. So he moved to a nearby house on the Rhine where, however, he was disturbed by the croaking of frogs: he tried to scare them, without success. Today, the annoying whistles are no longer heard but the charm of the landscapes painted by Mastelletta remains along this walk that connects the center of Sasso Marconi and arrives at the village of Fontana, running alongside the Reno.
La Rupe – in the ancient rock church Mastelletta played the organ for enjoyment and painted the paintings depicting Saints Sebastiano and Rocco
Cà Tintoria - along the road that runs alongside the Reno (immediately after its confluence with the Setta, the background of several paintings by Donducci)
Palazzo Sanuti - residence of Nicolò Sanuti
Between Sacred and Profane
Every place has its own legends and superstitions. The evocative force of the Rock has always been so powerful as to create magic and mystery and to arouse feelings of fear and horror. At the end of the 19th century there lived on the Rock a fortune teller and fortune teller whose teachings were put into practice with great trust by the whole country. The Sasso also hosted a visionary who, the day before the 1892 landslide, predicted its catastrophe. Perhaps also to defeat these fears, since 1283, the same Rupe has hosted the sacred image of the Blessed Virgin with Child, which today we can find (reproduced) inside the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso. This walk ends in the place that unites the sacred and the profane: a religious vow in 1630 to defeat "hunger, war and plague", under penalty of eternal damnation.
The Cliff – symbolic place always believed to be animated by the Devil Devil's Pit, whose name takes up a legend in which the devil killed two novices, pushing one into the river and throwing a stone at the head of the other
Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso - Piazza dei Martiri (where, at the beginning of the 19th century, the image of the Blessed Virgin was transferred, previously preserved in the church inside the cliff)
Oratory of Sant'Apollonia - vow with threat of eternal damnation