Discover La Collina

In La Collina, you can shape your stay around different themes: a tour of the Latteria Sociale La Collina dairy, Parmigiano Reggiano and local specialties, trails or culture. For planning your day, the reservation and recommended arrival time for the dairy tour are especially important. The hiking trail and the Sentiero also offer different starting points for excursions; the church of Massa and a festival in July add to the cultural themes.

Plan your dairy tour

The guided dairy tour is available only with a prior, mandatory reservation. Tours can be booked from Tuesday to Sunday. The tour lasts about an hour and concludes with a tasting. If you want to see every stage of the process, arrival by 09:30 is recommended. Check the reservation details before your trip.

During the tour, you can follow the individual stages of milk processing: from heating to forming the curds and salting. The visit therefore includes both the work in the dairy and the tasting afterward. The approximate duration helps you fit this activity into your schedule; it is not an exact timetable.

Parmigiano Reggiano and local products

The tasting includes the main aging stages of Parmigiano Reggiano. Comparing different stages of aging gives you a tangible connection to the cheesemaking process you can observe during the tour. In addition to Parmigiano Reggiano, ricotta and other typical products of the Appennino Reggiano are available.

The shop at the Latteria Sociale La Collina is also part of the culinary offering: it sells its own products as well as specialties from the surrounding area, made by small local artisan producers. The picture is rounded out by the region’s agriculture. Today, nine farms run by young people work as livestock breeders and Parmigiano Reggiano producers, following the teachings of their grandparents.

In connection with the Latteria, you can also have lunch at Ristorante La Collina. The indicated route to the restaurant goes from Toano’s Capoluogo along the SP 8 toward Cerredolo, then takes the turnoff to Massa. Ristorante La Collina is 2 km from the Capoluogo. Check the lunch reservation arrangements before your trip.

Trails around La Collina

The Sentiero DELLA PASQUA DI SANGUE passes through La Collina and then continues uphill on a road to Massa. A hiking trail also connects Via dell’Aigume with La Collina. These route descriptions give you two different points of reference for planning: the Sentiero continues toward Massa, while the hiking trail connects Via dell’Aigume with La Collina. If you are planning a hike, you can follow the route mentioned for each trail and check current trail conditions in advance.

Culture and when to visit

In the area around La Collina, the Pro Loco di Massa organizes the Festa dell’Antica Trebbiatura in July. If you are planning your trip around this festival, check the date before you leave. Another cultural stop is the Chiesa di San Michele di Massa, also known as the Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo. It probably dates back to the Matildic period.

When planning your hotel stay, it may help to decide first what you want to focus on. A tour that requires a reservation and recommends an early arrival creates a different rhythm for the day than planning around hiking trails or the festival month mentioned above. This lets you arrange the themes in La Collina according to your interests, without having to combine them into a fixed excursion package.

Discover more destinations: Poviglio, Sant'ilario D'enza, Cerredolo, Cecciola, Borzano, Gualtieri, Bibbiano, Casale.

For the broader travel overview: Reggio Emilia.