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Casina is a pleasant
and welcoming hill-holiday-place at the entry to the valley of the
Crostolo. At the time of Matilda it was a obligatory way between
Carpineti and Canossa; therefore noteworthy remains of that period
can be found here, like the ruins of the castle of Sarzano, which
dominates the valley, the old parish of Paullo, the well preserved
oratory of Beleo, the remote little church of Pianzo and many traces
of ancient settlements.
In 1885 Corrado Ricci, a historian from Ravenna, wrote in the newspaper
"Fanfulla": Sarzano is one of the most elegant and best preserved
forts of the marvellously pictoresque Appennine of Reggio Emilia;
this castle is maybe countess Matilda's most artistic possession.
Its square donjon with merlons and machicolations, the entry portal
and the tall tower are well preserved; the last but three, formerly
a bell-tower, still shows a remarkable part of the original masonry
consisting of parallel courses of arenaceous ashlars.
In 958 it already was a possession of Azzo Adalberto, Matilda's great-grandfather.
When the countess died it passed to the monastery of Canossa, then
to the commune of Reggio Emilia, to the Fogliani, the Canossa, the
Vicedomini, the Carandini, who in 1698 attended its latest restoration.
Otto II confirms that the parish of Paullo has been depending on
the Church of Reggio Emilia since 980; the neighbouring castle of
Lezzolo dates back to the beginning of the year one thousand; its
owner was Guy, man at arms of Tedaldo, Matilda's grandfather. It
enjoys a suggestive panoramic location; its structure with interesting
sculptured columns and capitals is well preserved.
Beleo lies on a little wooded hill in a wide green valley. It has
a small oratory made of square hewn stones laied without cement mortar.
It has a very simple lean-to roof with a strip of shaped stone and
a machicolation on top of it. The apse is exceptionally elegant;
it has a stone-frame on its top and underneath there are small serrated
ashlars which rest on monolithic bows with small sculptures.
Beleo and the surrounding territories were given in emphyteusis to
Boniface of Canossa; the oratory is well preserved, also because
of the recent restoration; it is a place of worship on the part of
local people.
Pianzo is a very ancient place; finds from Mount Venus and Wood Cernaieto
seem to attest that it has been inhabited since prehistory. The foundation
of the church of Pianzo, standing remote on a mound, with a wide
and green parvis, dates back to the Lombardic epoch. Azzo Adalberto
was presumably the owner of this church as well as of the castle,
on which there is not reliable information. The territory of Pianzo,
which comprises also the village of Montale, with its characteristic
tower-house, is described in the bulls of pope Steven IX (1057) and
pope Alexander II (1072) as belonging to the monastery of St Prospero.
The church was many times restored; in the three sides of the apse
there are walled stones supporting a bow or lunette; these are ruins
of a former moulding similar to the one of the oratory of Beleo.
In the surroundings of Casina there are many medieval villages (Bergogno,
Votigno, Vercallo, Croveglia, etc.) which are worth remembering.
The castle of Leguigno, most recently built, is also noteworthy.
Casina has a comfortable road network and a singular landscape; the
hill of Sarzano, Monchio de' Ferri and the parish of Paullo are worth
visiting; accomodation facilities are available.
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