Day-hikers can scale Pietra di Bismantova (1047m), a stark limestone outcrop visible for miles around that's popular with climbers and weekend walkers. The Italian Alpine Club has carved a 5km loop up and back from Piazzale Dante (the parking lot in front of Foresteria San Benedetto), about 4km south of Castelnovo ne' Monti.
The striking mountain was alluded to as a stepping-stone to purgatory in Dante Aligheri's Divine Comedy.
