The low hills south of Reggio Emilia, where the Po plain starts to ripple up toward the Apennines, hide a strange geology: outcrops of gypsum, the glittering crystalline rock left behind when ancient seas evaporated millions of years ago. Water dissolves gypsum easily, and over time it has carved caves, sinkholes and blind valleys into these hills. The Bassa Collina Reggiana, the low Reggio hill country, is part of the UNESCO site Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines, listed in 2023, and around Borzano, Albinea and Vezzano sul Crostolo you can see the white and grey gypsum cliffs poking through the woods and vineyards.
The caves here are mostly closed to the public and protected for their bats and fragile formations, but walking paths lead past outcrops, sinkholes and viewpoints. One of the best known is the Tana della Mussina near Borzano, a cave where archaeologists found traces of prehistoric burials. The landscape is green and gentle, with oak woods, vineyards producing the sparkling red Lambrusco, and fields where the cows that give milk for Parmigiano Reggiano graze.
The riding is pleasant rather than dramatic, with small roads winding through the hills, linking villages and farms with short climbs, tight bends and views over the plain. Head further south and the roads get more serious: the road up the Crostolo valley toward the Apennine passes, and the route to Canossa, where the ruins of Matilda of Canossa's castle stand on a white rock. It was here in 1077 that Emperor Henry IV stood in the snow for three days to beg forgiveness from Pope Gregory VII, an episode that gave the expression going to Canossa to several languages. Expect traffic near Reggio Emilia and on weekends, and fog on winter mornings in the plain.
Scandiano, about seven kilometres away, is the nearest larger town, with fuel, shops and restaurants, and a fine castle that belonged to the Boiardo family; the poet Matteo Maria Boiardo was born here. Albinea and Vezzano have cafés and trattorias serving local food like erbazzone, a savoury pie with greens and cheese, and cappelletti in broth. A visit to a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy, where you can see the cheese being made at dawn, is a highlight of any trip.