The upper valley of the Secchia is the high Apennine country of Reggio Emilia, a landscape of beech woods, bare grassy ridges and deep river valleys, where Emilia gives way to Tuscany. The river rises near the Passo del Cerreto, at about 1,260 metres, and flows north through sparsely populated hills before dropping to the plain and the Po. The region is part of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine National Park, with wolves, golden eagles and red deer in the high country.
The nearest town is Castelnovo ne' Monti, a lively little place with about ten thousand people in the shadow of the Pietra di Bismantova, a great flat-topped rock that rises out of the hills like a ship's hull. Dante mentions it in the Purgatorio as the image of a difficult climb. The countryside is also the home of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the cheese dairies, where the wheels are made each morning from the milk of local cows, are open to visitors. Mountain villages have stone houses with slate roofs, and chestnut woods provide flour for sweet cakes.
For riders, these are some of the finest roads in northern Italy. The road up to the Passo del Cerreto climbs through woods and open pasture, with plenty of bends and sweeping views, and further east the Passo di Pradarena rises higher, to about 1,570 metres, with stunning views across the valley. Traffic is light, apart from summer weekends, when motorcyclists arrive from Parma and Modena. The surface is generally good, though frost has damaged parts, and gravel appears after rain. Mist gathers in the valleys in the morning, and thunderstorms build on summer afternoons.
Castelnovo ne' Monti has fuel, shops, restaurants and hotels, and is the best base, while villages higher up have only a bar or a shop. Food here means tortelli, cured ham, mushrooms and chestnut dishes, with cheese and a glass of red from the hills. Winter brings snow to the higher passes, and the best time is from May to October.