There Carolingian Way reconstructs the historical journey that Charlemagne took in the year 800 AD, from Aachen to Rome, to receive the imperial crown from the hands of Pope Leo III. This event marks a crucial moment in European history, as it gives rise to the’Carolingian Empire, one of the largest kingdoms in Western Europe in the Middle Ages.
During the journey, Charlemagne and his court stopped at various strategic locations and were honored by local populations and ecclesiastical authorities. On the Mantua stretch, Charlemagne passed through charming medieval villages, such as Castiglione delle Stiviere, Solferino, Cavriana, and Volta Mantovana, passing through the morainic hills. He then continued on to San Benedetto Po, Sermide, Felonica, and finally to the Rocca di Stellata.
The route has identified a medieval itinerary in the city of Mantua which includes, among other things, the Basilica of Sant'Andrea, where there is a plaque dated 1402 which commemorates the discovery of the Relic under the empire of Charlemagne, and the Carolingian Garden, created in 2019 and cultivated according to the dictates of the Capitulare de villis, a text commissioned by Charlemagne in the 7th century to regulate rural and agricultural activities.