From Fornaci to Guido Alberini Park

This route starts from the same point as No. 9 but takes a different direction, heading more decisively north and crossing the last truly agricultural strip in the south-western sector of the city.

From the heart of Fornaci you follow Via Labirinto, skirt the ring road and reach the small historic hamlet of Noce. Here, a garden bears the name of Cacciamali. It’s a stretch where the landscape changes quickly: first allotments and silence, then warehouses, houses, memory.

The most sensitive section is Chiesanuova. Here, history is deeply intertwined with environmental struggle: in recent years the neighbourhood has undergone a major clean-up after PCB and dioxin contamination caused by the former Caffaro chemical plant was discovered. Today, however, the parks have been regenerated – they are open, used and reclaimed.

The walk ends at Parco Alberini, the connection point with Route 1. A route that is doubly worthwhile: for what it shows you and for what it teaches you.

Villa Suardi, the fortress with a maze.
Between Fornaci and Via Labirinto hides a villa that looks as if it has stepped out of an adventure novel: Villa Suardi.
Built between 1730 and 1744 on top of an ancient castle, it has turrets, drawbridges, real moats and even a maze that gives it its name.
A fascinating mix of elegance and defence, with a large tree-lined lawn at the back, a small temple at the end of the avenue and an architecture that plays on the boundary between dream and reality.

Reborn parks. Where there once was poison.
Parco Caffaro is a young green space. Literally.
It was created after the remediation of areas contaminated by PCB from the former Caffaro plant. Today you’ll find newly planted trees, constant care and a landscape that is being rebuilt step by step. Wherever possible, the large historic trees have been saved. The rest is all future, planted from scratch.

The route is not directly served by the metro, but it is easily reached by surface public transport. Line 17 connects the Fornaci neighbourhood (starting point) with Castelmella, while lines 2 and 15 serve the areas of Chiesanuova and Noce, which the route passes through.