Vacations Rx In The Wellness Valley

By Tara Nolan

Emilia-Romagna’s Wellness Valley encourages active travel.

“How old are you and what do you do for fitness?” asks the young personal trainer as we jog down the steps into the garden at our hotel. I decide it’s not a rude question and answer – he simply does not want me to expire on the grounds of the hotel.

But here I am, doing squats and lunges, steps from the Adriatic Sea, in an area in Emilia-Romagna, a region of Northern Italy, called Wellness Valley. The concept, which was founded in 2002 by Nerio Alessandri, also founder of fitness equipment giant Technogym, was conceived to encourage the area’s citizens to live a healthy lifestyle. This “wellness ecosystem” encourages exercise, a healthy diet and mental well-being, and extends right down to urban infrastructure and planning. The Wellness Valley brand recently expanded to include tourism, packaging up ideas and routes for wellness, exercise and sport for those who want to visit the region.

PREDAPPIO ©CRISTINA MERLONI

My early-morning sweat-fest is a service offered by my hotel, like others in the area. In this case, going on vacation doesn’t have to mean you give up your weekly Pilates classes. The classes can come to you.

This is a beautiful part of the country to take in the area’s rich history and culture through outdoor experiences. In the city of Rimini, you might see groups Nordic walking along the sandy beach, poles in hand. A bike provided by the hotel allows me to pedal around the city, across a Roman bridge, started by Augustus and finished by Tiberius in AD 21, and through the neighbourhood of Borgo San Giuliano, a former fishing village now known for its lively murals.

In connecting visitors to outdoor adventure, the region’s businesses and accommodations aim to make it easy to explore by bike and on foot with maps. I’m given a thorough guidebook that shows routes with distance, elevation and must-sees. There’s even an app available.

FAENZA VINEYARDS

At my next hotel, in nearby Faenza, a mountain bike is delivered to me by a local bike shop. Here, there are 2,000 kilometres of bike lanes, road routes, and singletrack to explore. My guide, Cristina Merloni, leads me on a 40-kilometre ride through olive groves, past persimmon and kiwi trees, along paths overlooking vertiginous vineyards and beside steep clay hills that have fed nearby Faenza’s pottery trade (which I later see examples of in the city). The promise of a sweet treat at a nearby gelateria propels me up a series of hills to the medieval village of Brisighella. It is a welcome refreshment before heading back.

BREAKFAST AT BORGO CONDÉ WINE RESORT, NEAR PREDAPPIO

It seems as though food is my motivation more than once on this trip, as another day, I find myself on a rural hike in Predappio when I spot a vineyard off in the distance. I know the hills I’m about to climb will lead me to organic wine and a hearty lunch. Wellness doesn’t have to mean sacrificing la dolce vita. Eating a lunch featuring homemade pasta and other local specialties made from fresh ingredients is healthy fuel after all the fresh air.

NORDIC WALKING IN RIMINI