The Fornio Woods

A pleasant walk in the countryside and natural scenery around Fornio, a small Fidenzavillage: this is what this itinerary offers you. Its starting point is San Lorenzo Martire’s Church, built from 1708 to 1742. The old cathedral, dating back to the 12th century, once stood on the little hill where you’ll now find a more recent building. Today the churchyard can be accessed via a flight of steps added in around 1950. Leave the church behind you now and climb up to the village’s small graveyard where the gravel road that will take you into the woods of broad-leaved trees which is so characteristic of this nature walk begins. A walk in Fornio has something to offer in every season: spring with its short-lived flowers, summer with the fields alongside the footpath cultivated with wheat and, lastly, autumn, which will delight you with the warm colours of autumn foliage. Fornio is a small village with a population of around 300. It is located on one of the historic salt trading roads from the Salsomaggiore Terme wells. The woods we will explore were the source of the wood needed to extract salt from the Farnesiane salt ponds in Salsominore. This small village borders on Stirone Park and is also a pilgrimage destination on the Via Francigena route.