He who goes to the mountains returns full — the Apennines above Emilia offer not just clean air and rest, but mushrooms, chestnuts, wild herbs, game, and the spiritual restoration that comes from altitude and silence. Going to the mountains is never a loss.
The Emilian Apennines form the entire southern border of the region, rising abruptly from the plain and reaching heights above 2,000 metres in the Cimone and Corno alle Scale massifs. For the inhabitants of the flat Po Valley — where the landscape extends to the horizon without a hill — the mountains were simultaneously nearby and exotic: visible on clear days from Bologna, they were a half-day's journey that transported one to a completely different world of stone villages, chestnut forests, and cold streams. The mountain tradition in Emilia is not aristocratic (no ski resorts for the wealthy, no exclusive hunting estates) but popular: families went up in summer to escape the plain's humid heat, gathering porcini mushrooms in August and September, picking chestnuts in October, hunting wild boar and hare. The mushroom harvest is treated with almost ritualistic seriousness: permitted quantities are regulated, favourite spots are family secrets passed across generations, and the question 'where did you find them?' is never answered honestly. The partisans of the Resistance used the Apennines as their base — the mountains that nurtured and concealed them also fed them. 'Returning full' means coming back with mushrooms and chestnuts in the basket, but also with the fullness that comes from having been in a place larger than oneself.
Reflects the longstanding tradition of Po Valley inhabitants travelling to the Emilian Apennines in summer and autumn for mushrooms, chestnuts, cool air, and the restoration of spirit that the mountains of the red belt's partisan history provide.
A father organising a weekend trip to the Apennines with his family
Domenica si va al Cimone. Chi va sla muntagna tòrna pièn — porcini, aria pulita, e la testa libera.
Sunday we go to Monte Cimone. He who goes to the mountains returns full — porcini mushrooms, clean air, and a clear head.
Two elderly Bolognesi comparing their weekend plans
— Dove vai sabato? — In montagna, come sempre. Chi va sla muntagna tòrna pièn — e con i funghi vale doppio.
— Where are you going on Saturday? — To the mountains, as always. He who goes to the mountains returns full — and with mushrooms it is twice as true.
A doctor recommending a mountain break to a stressed patient
Stacchi il telefono e va sull'Appennino per qualche giorno. Chi va sla muntagna tòrna pièn — fisicamente e mentalmente.
Switch off your phone and go to the Apennines for a few days. He who goes to the mountains returns full — physically and mentally.
A mountain guide showing a group the chestnut forests of the Emilian Apennines
Qui i Bolognesi vengono da secoli. Chi va sla muntagna tòrna pièn — e non solo con le tasche piene di castagne.
The Bolognesi have been coming here for centuries. He who goes to the mountains returns full — and not only with pockets full of chestnuts.