Castelnovo Monti (officially Castelnovo ne' Monti; locally ) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Reggio Emilia The Province of Reggio Emilia ( it, Provincia di Reggio nell'Emilia, Emilian: ''pruvînsa ed Rèz'') is one of the nine provinces of the Italian Region of Emilia-Romagna. The capital city, which is the most densely populated comune in the provin ...

, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Along with every other town and village in the Apennines, Castelnovo is an approved area for the production of

Parmesan Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' is ...

cheese. It is also home to the only hospital in the area. Querceto appennino reggiano

Geography

It is situated in the Reggiano Apennines mountains. Castelnovo is best known for the

Pietra di Bismantova 250px, Pietra di Bismantova seen from Croce, in the '' comune'' of Castelnovo ne' Monti. The Pietra di Bismantova (literally ''Stone of Bismantova'') is a geological formation ( ''monadnock'' or ''inselberg'') in the Reggiano Apennines, in the '' ...

spur. The pietra (literally "Rock of Bismantova") can be spotted from a distance of as it stands at around above sea level. The rock is a favourite climbing and abseiling destination throughout Italy and is considered a particularly difficult climb due to its outward-curving wall. The rock was mentioned by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri in the ''Divine Comedy''. Other geographical landmarks include the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

formations of the ''Gessi Triassici'' and the river

Secchia The Secchia (; egl, Sècia; called by Pliny )''Naturalis Historia'', Book 3, chap. xvi. is an Italian river. One of the main right bank tributaries of the Po, it flows through the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is long, and has a ...

which, together with the Pietra of Bismantova, are part of the

National Park of the Appennino Tosco-Emiliano Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park is a state-held natural preserve in Northern and central Italy, located in the heart of an area noted for natural features and for the local quality products and handicrafts. It was founded in 2001, and is inc ...

Coat of arms of Castelnovo Monti (until 1961)

''Frazioni''

Bellaria, Bellessere, Berzana, Bondolo, Bora del Musso, Burano, Ca' del Cavo, Ca' del Grosso, Ca' di Magnano, Ca' di Scatola, Campolungo, Capanna, Ca' Pavoni, Carnola, Casa della Carità, Casale, Case di Sopra, Case Perizzi, Casino, Castagnedolo, Cerreto, Chiesa, Cinqueterre, Colombaia, Costa de' Grassi, Croce, Eremo Bismantova, Fariolo, Felina, Felinamata, Frascaro, Garfagnolo, Gatta, Gombio, Maro, Monchio, Monchio di Villaberza, Monte Castagneto, Monteduro, Monticello, Mozzola, Noce, Parisola, Pietrebianche, Pioppella, Pregheffio, Quarqua, Regnola, Rio, Rivolvecchio, Roncadelli, Ronchi, Roncroffio, Schiezza, Soraggio, Terminaccio, Vezzolo, Vigolo, Virola, Vologno di Sotto, Zugognago.

Transportation

Castelnovo is connected to Reggio Emilia by a bus service run by ACT. Roads include SS 63 State road (to Reggio), the SS 513 state road (to the

province of Parma The Province of Parma ( it, Provincia di Parma) is a 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''. It has an area of and a total population of around 450,000 ...

), and the SP 7 and SP 15 provincial roads (to the

province of Modena The Province of Modena ( it, Provincia di Modena) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Modena. It has an area of and a total population of about 701,000 (2015). There are 48 ''comuni'' (singular: ''co ...

Twin towns

Castelnovo ne' Monti is twinned with: *

Fivizzano Fivizzano is a ''comune'' in the province of Massa and Carrara, Tuscany, central Italy. History It became part of the Republic of Florence in the 15th century thus gaining the Tuscan republic an important foothold in Lunigiana, a key region whi ...

, Italy *

Illingen, Baden-Württemberg Illingen is a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 10,000, it is to the west of Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg. History The towns of Illingen and were, in the Middle Ages, owned by the nearby M ...

, Germany *

Voreppe Voreppe () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).Official website
Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna {{EmiliaRomagna-geo-stub