Bassa Reggiana – Wikipedia

The Bassa Reggiana also known as bass , as defined by the Reggio Emilia, is a part of the territory of the province of Reggio Emilia, which extends for about 10 kilometers, in a band of municipalities that skirt the right bank of the Po river, along the stretch of the Lombard border, very far away therefore from the provincial capital.

The lower Reggiana includes the following municipalities:

• Philharmonic body Giovanni Rinaldi, of Reggiolo

The cinematographic reductions of the novels and stories of the cycle of Don Camillo were shot in the Lower Reggiana, born from the Penna del Parma Giovannino Guareschi. The films were shot in the center of Brescello, with some sequences in Boretto (in the country and along the embankment) and the railway station of Gualtieri. In Brescello there is the Peppone and Don Camillo Museum, where the American tank can be seen from the film Don Camillo and the honorable Peppone , the locomotive that towed the local train, Peppone’s sidecar, some ciak Originals, the period posters, some original scripts and the bicycles used by the two protagonists. In the parish church, the “talking” Christ who dialogue with Don Camillo is kept, while in the street is the house where Gino Cervi, overlooks the first film, showing his newborn son to his companions who applaud him.
In 2001 the natural size bronze statues of the two protagonists of the films were made. The statue of Don Camillo is placed in front of the church, while his counterpart, Peppone is placed in front of the town hall. The smiling statues in the central square of Brescello are observed respectively in the gesture of greeting themselves, creating the union wanted by Guareschi, in telling that village reality of coexistence between the Christian Democrats (of conservative and Catholic ideology) and the communists (idealists for progressive and Anticlericalism), in an eternal climate of struggle and collaboration, friendship and grudge, where, however, there are never winners.

In Brescello, there is the railway station, which also serves the Lombard municipality of Viadana. For this reason, the Brescellese station has a double name of Brescello-Viadana.

On Boretto’s embankment, as is visible from the films of “Don Camillo”, the boats bridge was present, which connected the Reggio province with the Mantuan one.

It is a local tradition whose origins date back to before the nineteenth century. It is a very heartfelt ceremony, which takes place every year on the last Saturday of September and sees the participation of all the inhabitants ranging from the municipality of Brescello, Boretto, Gualtieri and Guastalla. The function begins at 7 pm, starting from the parish church in Brescello, with the procession of ecclesiastics and faithful, accompanied by the music of the musical band body of Bagnolo in Piano (Re). The crucifix used in the procession is the same one that can be seen in the films of “Don Camillo”-the procession and the blessing of the river are also visible in the first film. When the procession comes to the poison of the Po, from the Brescellese shore, solemn prayer is recited, so that the waters do not break the banks and do not turn on, to do this the priest descends very close to the Golena, pointing the crucifix in the shoreline, It traces the sign of the cross and blesses the waters, at this point the ecclesiastics and the faithful recite the Our Father. After the religious function, the party continues under the arcades of the town, with outdoor dinner based on fried dumplings, Lambrusco and salami.

The east part of the Bassa Reggiana was hit considerably by the earthquake of May 2012. In particular, the Municipality of Reggiolo, where the historic center has undergone several damage.