Nure valley is formed by Nure river. Its spring is in the Apennine in Piacenza, at Lago Nero, and is a tributary of Po river, where Nure flows in at Caorso. Nure valley sits in between Trebbia valley to the west, Aveto valley to the south-west, Ceno valley to the south-east, Arda valley to the east. Its flora and fauna are typical of Apennine areas. At the highest altitudes the valley is covered by broad-leaved trees and conifers, there are numerous lakes like Lago Nero, Lago Moo and Labo Bino, but also a series of streams almost all flowing into Nure river. The village at the highest altitude in Nure valley is Ferriere, which has also the highest mountains in the Apennine around Piacenza: Monte Bue (1780 m), Monte Ragola (1772 m), Monte Nero (1752 m), Monte Crociglia (1578), Monte Carevolo (1552 m). In this area there are various trekking routes mapped by CAI, and in Selva di Ferriere there is the Alpine hut Vincenzo Stoto managed by Gaep group.
In the high valley there once was the Via degli Abati (the Abbots’ Way), a path used between the 7th century and 1000 AD by the monks in the abbey of San Colombano in Bobbio to reach Rome. It allowed the monastery to stay in contact and at the same time control its properties, which extended from the north of Italy to Tuscany.
Over the medieval period the valley was dominated by the Malaspina, Nicelli and Anguissola noble families. It is studded by numerous fortified castles, of which the best preserved are the castle in Riva, Paderna castle, Rocca di Podenzano, Vigolzone castle, and Grazzano Visconti castle.This valley is on the edge of the territory of the Four Provinces (Alessandria, Genova, Pavia, Piacenza), characterised by shared customs and habits, but also by a rich repertoire of ancient folk music and dance. The most famous musical instrument from this area is the piffero appenninico, accompanied by the accordion and once also by the piva emiliana (a bagpipe from Emilia region).
