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Of the many things I expected to do in Italy, whitewater rafting was not even close to peeking in at the bottom of that list. I didn’t even know you could whitewater raft in Italy, but certainly, you can!
During my stay at the BlogVille house in Bologna, we decided to test the rapids of the Trebbia River in Emilia Romagna, and experience this side of Italy that I’m sure many still don’t know.
I’ve whitewater rafted many times in different countries, but this was the first time I was required to wear a wetsuit. It was May, and the water was freezing to my standards! Yes, a wetsuit was more than necessary.

Image by beersandbeans.com.
Contrary to the rapids of more tropical rivers where I’ve whitewater rafted, the waters of the Trebbia River are not murky or simply clear; they have this almost glowing turquoise color that not only looks beautiful with its contrasting scenery of the Alta Val Trebbia -High Trebbia Valley- but also tell you how cold will your journey be.
The rapids are somewhat tame with their Class 2 and 3 strength for the most part, but what they might lack in strength they do make up with scenic beauty and unique rafting moments.
Unique rafting moments? Yes. The Trebbia River has a manmade tunnel in which you can raft through. As the water gets channeled through the tunnel, the rapids intensify and the surroundings get pitch black.
There’s a moment where the raft flows through intense rapids in a dark tunnel which only shows a dim light at the end – several hundred meters ahead.
We whitewater rafted with Sports In Open Space, which made sure that our rafting experience was beyond our expectations.
They provided us with an expert guide who gave us an overview of the area and showed us some pit stops along the route to jump off small cliffs on the river banks. We jumped and tested the cold waters as they swept through the space between our skin and the wetsuits.
Cold or not, the jumping experience was one of the highlights of the rafting trip, along with the tunnel.
I think that this short video will show you even better how fun was our experience rafting on the Trebbia River.

For more information on the rafting season and options, check out www.sportsinopenspace.com.

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