For some reason, when we began using our GPS in Italy, we gave it a name – and Harriet became part of our family group. She fit in well, as she was great at giving orders. But on Thursday afternoon, we tested her patience and her mettle, as we decided to explore the area around Parma and visit one or two of the castles in the area.
We started out for Torrechiara castle, an easy ride through rolling fields of wheat. But then we reached an area of roadway that was obviously very new – a tangentiale that ringed a town. It was clearly not on Harriet’s map – in fact, on the screen there was a large blank spot…and in a somewhat frantic tone, Haarriet began to urge us to “at the first possibility, MAKE A U TURN”. We continued along the tangentiale, and Harriet continued to exhort us to “ MAKE A U TURN”. Clearly she felt we were in danger of disappearing into some kind of parmesan black hole. Finally, we reached a point where the new road joined with an older one, and Harriet took a deep breath, advised us she was “recomputing”, and we continued on our way.
What Harriet didn’t tell us was that although the ride was lovely, and the castle hovering over the town was impressive, it was also closed, due to damage from an earthquake that hit the area in December 2008. We did get to see some lovely countryside, though – and walked through the quiet and tiny village that was part of the castle grounds.
On our way back we stopped at a second castle in Sala Baganza, which we were able to visit. There, there were sections that were not accessible, where the earthquake had caused fresco covered walls and ceilings to crack, and where we saw “bandaids” keeping the plaster in place.
We took a route back to Vicofertile that took us through a lush and green regional park, rolling hills and verdant woodlands. It was lovely.
It would have been nice to have a day or two longer to explore further – we had considered going to Cremona one day to see the musical instrument museum, and to visit Ferrara, but that, too, will have to wait for the next trip.
