Walking in (and around)… Romano di Lombardia (3), Lombardy, Italy

My third walk based around my old home of Romano di Lombardia starts in Chiari and takes in some lovely countryside along the river Oglio and a semi-abandoned shopping centre!

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Walk 3 – Chiari, Calcio, Santa Maria del Sasso and Romano

Living in Romano, I got one of the many frequent, cheap trains from Romano to Chiari (in the direction of Verona). At the time of writing, it costs only €2.20 and takes just eight minutes to get there.

Trains from Romano to Chiari (information correct as of May 2018).

Leave the train station on the side with the roundabout and go straight ahead, taking the road south (Viale Marconi) towards the centre.

A short walk south from the station will take you to the centre of Chiari.

Walking into Chiari from the train station.

Continue across two more small roundabouts and you will come to the small waterway that encircles Chiari’s centre. As with Romano, it’s worth entering the centre of the town and getting lost, ensuring that you take in the heart of the town, where you can find the bell tower and church.

When it’s time to leave Chiari, head to the southwest part of the small ring road surrounding the centre and cross the cobbled roundabout onto Via Maffoni. Head on to the next roundabout by bearing right onto Via San Giacomo and continuing down that road..

In order to get to the next stage of this walk, you will need to walk down Via Milano (the main road), which is more of a necessity than a pleasure. This may involve walking on the grass roadside rather than a pavement. I forked right at Via Campagnola and met the main road again by going left at the roundabout and down a tree-lined road, but this is optional.

Again following Via Milano west, head as far as Urago d’Oglio. This again, unfortunately, will involve walking on the grassy sides of the road / the fields rather than on a pavement, but needs must.

Urago d’Oglio has a cute centre and is worth including. Head down Via Roma and cross over to find the church.

Following a little explore, I headed back to Via Umberto I and walked towards the bridge that goes across the river Oglio itself.

Continue towards Calcio, passing the petrol station and going straight onto Via Papa Giovanni XXIII. Calcio’s most impressive feature is the San Vittore church with its huge dome. It also has a gelateria or two, which is why I decided to take a short break!

The walk back to Romano through Santa Maria del Sasso is much more rural than before. Continue to Via Umberto I and head north. This road can be followed all the way up to the first roundabout you see.

Walking through Calcio towards Santa Maria del Sasso.

Looking over to the river from Via Umberto I.

It isn’t actually necessary to walk all the way up to the roundabout as you can slip down a road to the left just before it. It was here that I found some quite pretty houses.

It is quite easy from here to find your way to Santa Maria del Sasso – simply follow any road or lane in the direction of this thing:

An (I think) abandoned shopping centre. I think the cinema was still open, but that’s about all.

Walk past the shopping centre and go either left or right at the fork in the road ahead. I went right.

Santa Maria del Sasso is very small but is still worth passing through. Head to the church / sanctuary and have a little explore.

Getting back to Romano is easy from here – simply follow the train line. Depending on the time of year this might be somewhat bland or really quite gorgeous. I was lucky to have seen the poppies in bloom and managed to get some nice shots.