Cergallina is located on a hilltop in a splendid position with stunning views, in the shire of Vernasca, 5 minutes from the pretty village of the same name, in the province of Piacenza, one of the lesser known provinces of the region of Emilia Romagna.


View of Cergallina

Parma is 35 minutes away, Mantova 70 minutes, Milan with its wonderful shopping, just over an hour away, Modena the home of Ferrari, 90 minutes down the highway towards Bologna.

View of Vernasca from Cergallina
 

Tourism is not overdeveloped– with similar beauty to the Tuscan countryside this area is considered unspoilt as Tuscany was thirty years ago. Northern Italians come for their weekend escapes and summer holidays and visitors from other countries explore the area by car throughout the holiday season.
 
Castle of Vigoleno (Piacenza)
Castell'Arquato (Piacenza)

Parma and Piacenza are also the home to the”Castles of the Duchy of Parma & Piacenza”, and many of these beautifully restored castles can be visited in half day trips from Cergallina. Two of these, Castell'Arquato and Vigoleno, are just fifteen minutes drive from Cergallina.

 
Castle of Bardi (Parma)
Castle of Fontanellato (Parma)

Cergallina is located at 500 metres above sea level. From the house the views are incredible – facing south rolling farmlands dotted with vineyards lead up to the wooded hills of the Tuscan Emilian Alps and to the north the view of the Po valley spreads out into the distance. On a clear day even the snowclad mountains of Switzerland are visible over the Padana plain, where the River Po meanders across the plains to the east coast of Italy
  

Cergallina is surrounded by small farms, and tiny villages called “frazione” dot the area. In each village the “bar” is the centre of activity. These bars are both restaurants and pubs, and village life revolves around them. Of course with no mass tourism in the area, it's possible to experience real Italian country life. The restaurants, or rather “trattorias”, excel in their offer of local cuisine, as they must satisfy the very demanding Italian clientele who frequent them, with no lowering of standards as unfortunately happens in areas which have been overdeveloped.


Emilia Romagna is considered the top food area of Italy (Parma just having been appointed headquarters for the European Food Commission Authority). Parma and Piacenza are well known as home to Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham) and Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese. The excellent country cuisine is enjoyed with fine wines produced in the area (even Julius Caesar was known to have enjoyed the famous Piacenza Gutturnio red wine!).



The climate at Cergallina is particularly pleasant. Long hot summer days, ideally spent lazing around the pool, are followed by evenings generally blessed with cool breezes. Spring and autumn are blazes of colour, great for walking, riding or mountain biking, and the winters are enjoyable too - some snowfalls in winter create a fairytale effect, but mostly the days are cold ,clear and sunny.