The Hills of Bologna
As part of our ongoing mission to see more of the area surrounding Bologna whenever we can, we found ourselves on a Monday heading out in our ancient Polo to what the Bolognese call “the hills”. Probably because in my mind the hills mean softly undulating landscape, I was not prepared for the majestic sweeps, deep valleys and dramatic shapes of the Bolognese hills. It would be like calling the Peak district, the hills of Sheffield, which is an error with my understanding of the Italian word rather than undue modesty on their part. This area is part of the Apennines which separates Bologna and the north from Pisa and Florence.
Al advises me that it was interesting driving, along the twisty roads, with hairpin bends, steep inclines and unexpected drops with no power steering and it certainly looked it from the passenger seat. My ears popped on one high stretch and we knew that down was the only remaining direction available. There were many beautiful small towns in valleys and on hillsides as we snaked our way through. I don’t have photos of the drive as I was too busy taking it in. You will just have to take my word for it or visit for yourself.
Porretta Terme
We had set our sights on a town called Porretta Terme . As the name suggests Terme is Italian for Thermal spa and these springs have been in use since Roman times. The town is also famous for Winter sports as it is close to a couple of resorts as well as being home to an International Soul Music festival which has been running since 1987. It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures promising to reach 15 despite it still being February.
We enjoyed ourselves wandering around the streets looking at the architecture. However, it is us, so we had timed our visit with lunch and needed to find something to eat. Monday lunchtime is not an ideal time to visit a town as many shops and businesses close for lunch and many restaurants and cafes don’t open on Mondays. However, there is always somewhere to be found and we were more than happy to stumble on Cipensoio which is the restaurant of the Helvetia Thermal Spa hotel. It looked formal and we thought twice about going in, but we read the menu outside and decided we would go for it. It rated highly on the review sites, but we had really been looking for a sandwich. We often find ourselves in restaurants having sworn we would have a light lunch on the run.
Baccala’ mantecato “Brandacujun” 
Crostini al Lardo stagionato di Pata Negra 
Maltagliati con scorfano, pomodorini confit e asparagi 
Maccheroni al torchio con salsiccia di cinta e porcini
Ci Penso Io is literally translated into English as “I’ll think about it”, but it widely accepted to mean “I’ll handle that” or “I’ll deal with it”, so bear this in mind if you hear it said or say it. Certainly, in this case they could handle our lunch. The food was delicious.
We had only been able to pay for two hours parking (parking requires change which, except for small brassy denominations, seems to elude us), so we had to get back on the road. It’s still early in the year so you start to lose the light at 5pm and we had another stop planned before heading for home. There is a station, Porrettana, which runs to and from Bologna, so a train trip would probably take you through some beautiful countryside on the way. Next time I’m planning on booking in for a spa treatment.
La Scola
We drove back in the direction of Bologna but turned off onto a road that climbed the side of a large hill. This road was in part single lane and we were a little disturbed to see bus stops dotted along, as there was no room for a bus to pass. The tarmac surface did not extend by more than a cars width and to the sides were rain gullys. I didn’t notice any passing places, but I would not have wanted to reverse back to one anyway, the road was steep and twisty. La Scola is listed as a historical monument, but it is a tiny village where all the buildings are from 14th and 15th Centuries and were built by master stonemasons. Its location, perched on the side of a hill, means that the beautiful buildings are set in an incredible context against the sky and surrounding hills. As it is tiny there is no parking to speak of, no facilities and I imagine that it could get pretty busy in peak tourist season. You can also get there by train and then bus from Bologna and I recommend it as somewhere to go on the way to or from somewhere else.
