Forest trail to Castello di Carpineti (via CAI 618)

Do you know the legend of the Manodori?🫰 I went to the Reggio Emilia Apennines in the Municipality of Carpineti and took a beautiful Trekking of more than 15 kilometers starting from Valestra until reaching the CARPINETE CASTLE 🏰. It is a circular tour full of Oratories, natural caves shrouded in ancient legends. Starting from Valestra (RE) you follow path 618, an indication with a white and red signpost for MONTE VALESTRA 🗻: path 618. After less than an hour you arrive at the ORATORY of SANTA MARIA MADDALENA ☦️. The Oratory stands on a NATURAL CAVE called the Devil's Hole😈 . It seems that a Brigand named Balista hid an important treasure right in the Devil's Hole 💰 Many years later a woodcutter who was resting near the Devil's Cave😈 noticed a golden hand stuck in the ground, took it home and with his brothers sold it to a rich 🫰passing merchant who gave them gold coins in exchange 💸greatly increasing the power and prestige of their family. Some say that from that day the Manodori lineage began. Among the Manodori we must certainly remember Pietro Manodori founder of the Cassa di Risparmio di Reggio Emilia💴💶💷💰💲. From the Oratory of Maria Maddalena always follow path 618 to ORATORY OF SAN MICHELE ARCANGELO 🪽😇 where a little further on, slightly detaching from the path on the left, there are another THREE NATURAL CAVES. Continuing on 618 we now head towards the CARPINETE CASTLE. This manor 🏰 was chosen by MATILDE DI CANOSSA as a summer residence 🌞. Matilde di Canossa, Countess, Duchess and Marchioness lived between 1046 and 1115 and was an important feudatory and a great supporter of the papacy in the struggle for investiture.