A week travelling by van between Emilia-Romagna, Toscana and Liguria
One year ago in July 2022, we spent a week in Italy travelling with my boyfriend's van. Instead of taking full-days of vacation we decided to keep working remotely in the mornings and have free time in the afternoons to travel/chill/explore.
Emilia-Romagna: Parma - Berceto - Lagdei - Bosco di Corniglio
Our journey started in Bergamo, where my boyfriend has his van. From there we moved to Parma, my hometown, where we spent our first evening enjoying great food, but also suffering a bit the from the muggy heat that hit the Padania valley in July.
Luckily we could refresh the next day when we arrived to my parents' vacations house in Berceto, a village in the Appennino hills, near Parma.
We parked the van in front of my family's house, so we could take advantage of comforts that are exceptional when you travel by van: the unlimited electricity to charge our laptops, the meals prepared by my mom and of course, the bathroom :)
But the real adventure had yet to start. Our next stop was Lagdei, at about 1 hour drive from Berceto and located at an altitude of about 1200 meters, where a lot of nice trekking routes start. I have great childhood memories of summer day trips in the mountains that started from there. We parked in front of the Rifugio Lagdei, then we took a 40 minutes walk up to the beautiful Lago Santo ("Holy Lake"), had a simple but delicious dinner at the restaurant of Rifugio Mariotti by the the lake, walked back down and enjoyed one of those starry sky you can only get when far away from inhabited areas.
The next morning we had breakfast at the Lagdei hut and we worked a bit using their free Wifi. At lunchtime, when a lot of trekker groups were gathering and cheerfully populating the place, we decided to move on.
Our goal was to reach Liguria and the sea in a few days, however we wanted to take it easy and make stops along the way. We stopped at the small village of Bosco di Corniglio to have lunch at the Restaurant/Hotel Ghirardini. We opted for the three-course lunch menu and ended up being really full, for a very small price!
Toscana: Casalina - Pontremoli - Filattiera
After another 35 minutes drive we entered the region of Lunigiana, just after the border between Emilia-Romagna and Toscana.
We stopped first at the very small village of Casalina, worked for a couple of hours and then went for a refreshing bath at Lago Pallino, a small pond at about 10 minutes walk from the village. Being surrounded by the nature, undisturbed by anyone, feeling the chilly water on our bodies, was just magical.
Then we looked for a nice place to stop for the night using the app of Park4night, a great tool we couldn't do without when travelling by van. After following a long, mostly gravel and narrow road that climbed up on a hill, we found a completely isolated area surrounded just by hills and fields of grass. The sunset and the company of some grazing cows gifted us with an unforgettable experience.
The next day we visited Pontremoli, a beautiful medieval village of Lunigiana, enjoyed good food and worked for a few hours from a cafe in the main square. In the afternoon we looked for a waterfall that was supposed to be near the village, but only found a small river. It was nevertheless another perfect natural pool so we enjoyed a refreshing bath there.
After a dinner based on focaccia (similar to pizza, but more crunchy) at the Pizzeria Locanda Antica Pieve we spent the night parked next to the old medieval castle of Filattiera, a very small and fascinating town where time seems to have stopped a thousand years ago. The next day we prepared breakfast in the van and worked next to it while enjoying the beautiful view over the valley. Of course we took a break for espresso coffee (and bathroom) at the Bar near the castle, frequented by a very local clientele.
Liguria: Bocca di Magra - Zanego - Tellaro
We took the road again and finally arrived near the sea. After securing us a slot in the camping Marina 3b at the mouth of the river Magra, we drove a bit further to find a spot for a swim. The Liguria coast is famous for being very stiff with rocks that directly jump into the water and a narrow road on top that goes along the coast. Also, not the easiest road to hit with a van. But the view from the top can be stunning, and you just have to accept a bit of hiking down to reach the sea and then hiking back up to the car. The spot where we stopped is called Spiaggia di Punta Bianca and it's not a long walk from the parking to the rocks where you can jump in the water.
The real reason why we had decided to get here was that we had tickets for a party organised by a guy I knew though a friend, who had organised a three-days festival at his vacations house. So the next day we parked our van near his place in Zanego and spent the Saturday evening at his amazing villa, enjoying a lineup of live artist and DJs playing music all night long.
On our last day we slept quite late and then we hit the sea again, this time in the fishers village of Tellaro, utterly beautiful with its coloured houses that make it look like a postcard.
