The Val di Taro is the valley of the
Taro
Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...
river, a tributary of the
Po. The valley lies almost entirely in the
Province of Parma
The province of Parma () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma.
It is made up of 47 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). It has an area of and a total population of aro ...
, in the
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...
region of Italy.
Geography
The Val di Taro is approximately 126 km long, and runs from south-west to north-east. The source of the Taro is on
Monte Penna, on the border between Emilia-Romagna and
Liguria
Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
. It runs into the Po at Gramignazzo, a
frazione
A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...
of the
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
of
Sissa. The valley lies between the
Val Baganza to the east, the valley of the
Vara and the
Valle di Magra to the south and the
Valle del Ceno to the west. The
Parco fluviale Regionale del Taro, or regional park of the Taro river, lies within it, and extends approximately from Fornovo di Taro to
Ponte Taro.
[
]
History
The Val di Taro is traversed by the Via Francigena
The Via Francigena (), also known as Francisca or Romea, is an ancient road and Christian pilgrimage, pilgrimage route running from the City status in the United Kingdom#Cathedral towns, cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and ...
, the ancient road and pilgrim route from Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
to Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, which follows the valley from Noceto to the Passo della Cisa. From mediaeval times most of the Val di Taro was held by the Landi family, princes of Val di Taro. Their castle stands at Compiano. In the late 16th century their lands passed into the hands of Ottavio Farnese following a failed conspiracy against the Farnese family in 1582, some thirty years before the more famous Sanvitale conspiracy
The Sanvitale conspiracy () was a plot to assassinate Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, and members of his family at the baptism of his new-born son Alessandro in 1611. The conspiracy may also be referred to in Italian as the , ...
. Claudio Landi, Prince of Val di Taro, plotted with Giambattista Anguissola and Giammaria and Cammillo Scotti to assassinate Farnese, but the plot was discovered; Landi lost the Val di Taro, and the other conspirators lost their heads.[
]
References
{{reflist, refs=
[ .n.(1863]
''Barbara Sanvitale e la congiura del 1611 contro i Farnesi; Cenni storici'', di Federico Odorici, con documenti. Volumetto di pag. 84, in 8.°
(book review, in Italian). ''Archivio Storico Italiano'', Firenze: G.P. Vieusseux. Nuova serie 17 (1): 100–106. Accessed May 2013.
[L'Area Protetta]
(in Italian). Parco fluviale Regionale del Taro, 2 June 2010. "The protected area". Accessed June 2013.
Valleys of Emilia-Romagna