HISTORY

The history of the Via Bibulca is linked to the countless events that, from ancient times, have involved the middle valley of Secchia, that is the stretch between the rivers Secchia, Dragone and Dolo.The area was a favourite place of settlement from the year 2000 BC, when the upper basins of the Secchia and Scoltenna were peopled by the Friniates, a tribe of Ligurian origin. Titus Livius writes that these belligerant and rebellious populations, with groups of Celts that had come from the north in the 4th century, fought against the Romans in a war that lasted for twenty years,until they were defeated in 175 BC. During the war the Romans laid down an important network of roads that enabled them to encircle their enemies and defeat them. The colonization that followed was carried out by Roman legionaries who were granted those lands at the end of their military career. It promoted the development of trade and links between the mountain regions and the city.Both the Friniates - who frequently pushed as far as Lucca and Pisa for plunder - and the Romans - efficient administrators of the territory - used a network of paths, including a stretch afterwards named the “Via Bibulca”, signifying that it was wide enough for the passage of a pair of oxen. Following the barbarian invasions these routes lost their importance; the Longobard invasion, however, made it necessary to establish lines of communication with Tuscany along the ridge of the Apennines.

Take up the axe, Longobard,
From Fiumalbo and from Frassinoro
The wind has shaven the thistle
And plucks at your golden beard.
Giovanni Pascoli, “Il Boscaiolo” Canti di Castelvecchio

In the first half of the 8th century, during the reign of Liutprand, the pass of The Radici was opened, thus connecting the Modenese mountain region, snatched from the Byzantines, with the Longobard estates of Garfagnana. The Bibulca Route however enjoyed its period of maximum importance towards the end of the 11th century, when Beatrice, Matilda’s mother, founded an Abbey in Frassinoro (1071). The creation of the Abbey was necessary as a means of controlling the territory, an activity made easier by the fact that it was close to one of the most important medieval routes. Indeed the building of the abbey was a severe blow to the prestige of the Church of Rubbiano, that until then had been responsible for toll collection and road maintenance. The importance of the Bibulca Route grew further with the foundation of the hospices of St. Geminianus (of which nothing remains) and of San Pellegrino (St Peregrine) in Alpe, to provide hospitality to the many travellers using this route. The latter hospice derives its name from the legend of St Peregrine. Son of the king of Scotland he gave up his wealth and went to the Apennines where he tamed wild beasts that infested that inhospitable region and overcame the evil forces of the devil. When he died both the Emilians and the Tuscans claimed the right to his relics. His body was therefore placed on a cart drawn by two wild bulls, one from Modena and the other from Lucca.The bulls raced off, and stopped exactly on the borderline between the two provinces, where the Church stands today, and it was impossible to budge them. This story seems to explain why the borderline between the provinces of Modena and Lucca lies exactly in the middle of the sanctuary.
In the following centuries the via Bibulca maintained its importance as a link with Tuscany. In the 18th century under the rule of the House of Este new lines of communication were established, among which is the Via Vandelli.This retraced ancient routes, in particular the upper stretch of the Bibulca Route. It was abandoned however towards the end of the century, when the Via Giardini was laid down.