The Garfagnana

Tourism, history, nature

Land and panorama

Garfagnana is a beautiful and favorable climatic zone, in the northwest corner of Tuscany, between the Apuan Alps and the Tuscan Emilian Apennines. Over 60% of the territory of the Garfagnana is covered by forests, of which approximately 20,000 hectares are of “Selve”: Chestnut forests, planted in the Middle Ages as a source of food and timber.

The natural heritage of Garfagnana is immense and well preserved because it is safeguarded and valued by Parks (Apuane Park and Orecchiella Park) and Oasis (Lipu and WWF). Historical and architectural heritage is not the least, with ancient villages, Romanesque churches, hermitages, churches, castles and rocks, remain testimony to the humility and talent of the people who lived in this “Great Wilderness” in the dark medieval times .

Sanctuary "MADONNA DELLA GUARDIA" on Mount Argegna

Close to the Passo dei Carpinelli, a splendid panoramic terrace on the Northern Apuan Alps, we find the Sanctuary of “Nostra Signora della Guardia”, the “monument to the Fallen of all wars” and the votive bell as a symbol of peace. Nearby, the ancient Hospitale, proof of the Via Francigena on the Pass of Tea.

Orecchiella Park

Wide natural park run by the rangers. In its interior, characterized by forests, meadows and rocky environments, you can observe deer, wild boars and other animals in freedom. The “Visitors Center” hosts a museum that illustrates the main natural aspects of the area.

San Pellegrino (m. 1524)

Dominates an immense panorama of the Serchio valley and the entire chain of the Apuan Alps. From the earliest times hinges between the provinces of Lucca and Modena, proof of it is the Bar of the area: you can enjoy coffee in the district of Lucca and pay it in the district of Modena. The village retains its ancient characteristics dominated by the Sanctuary, where the remains of S. Pellegrino and S. Bianco and the ancient hospice are housed where the Museum of Peasant Civilization is set up (Museo della Civiltà Contadina).

Verrucole Fortress

From the top of its 600 mt the Fortress dominates the Apuan Alps, the Apennine valleys, the Pania of Corfino and much of the bottom valley: a spectacle of unique beauty. It is possible to enter the Archeodromo to see live a faithful reconstruction of life in medieval times in costume, the tools of daily life and the weapons used during battles and sieges. If fortune assist you, you could come across the ghost of the Fortress: Captain Francesco Accorsini, accused of magic and sorcery and so sentenced to death.

Lake of Gramolazzo

A picturesque hydroelectric basin in which the rocky peaks of the Roccandagia, Tambura, Pisanino and Pizzo d’Uccello mountains are mirrored. At the beautiful grassy beach a small jetty was built to which sailboats and rowing boats could be sailed. This is the only bathing lake in the Garfagnana.

Ecomuseum of Upper Garfagnana "Olinto Cammelli"

From Gorfigliano a short climb leads to a hill dominated by the agile shape of a bell tower, alongside the one which was the first church in the country. In the canonical hall, recently reconstructed along with the church after a long period of abandonment, a small museum has been set up that houses a rich assortment of everyday objects and work tools related to the tradition of the local population. Of particular interest is the field dedicated to the extraction of marble. The highly panoramic place overlooks a beautiful landscape, characterized by the presence of Lake Gramolazzo.

Orto di Donna

It is a beautiful glacier, surrounded by the Pisanino Mountains (1946), Horse (1888), Contrario (1790), Grondilice (1805), Garnerone (1735) and Pizzo d’Uccello (1781) . Various trails leave from the shelters allowing you to walk in the middle of the White Marble quarry of the Apuan Alps.

Trassilico

A large inhabited nucleus whose noble origins go through the elegant portals and stately facades of the houses, lined up in two rows along the main road running parallel to the ridge. Must be visited the ancient Pieve Romanica, the fountain and the laundry at the entrance of the village, at the highest point the ancient medieval fortress recently restored.

Campocatino (m. 1000)

A large lawn born from an ancient glacier basin is a fascinating place among the most beautiful of the Apuan Alps at the foot of Mount Roccandagia. On the plateau there is a small church and dozens of houses made of stone, wood and plate cover, used as a shepherd summer shelter. Since 1991 it has been the natural oasis of LIPU and WWF. About half an hour’s walk, there is the hermitage of San Viano, built inside a natural cavity on a rocky wall.

Castelnuovo di Garfagnana

Located at the confluence between the Turrite Secca and the Serchio is the center of the valley, animated every Thursday morning by an important market that sees the presence of sellers and customers coming from the Emilian mountain. Must be visited the Ariostesca Fortress (XIIth century), which is named after Ludovico Ariosto, governor in Garfagnana for the Estensi, not far from the ancient Duomo. Finally, the Fortress of Monte Alfonso (14th century), always wanted by the Estensians to defend the town, surrounded by an impressive walled city wall with two balustrades, two entrances and walkways, from here you can admire the valley at 360 degree.

Vagli Sotto, its lake and the "ghost town"

Surely one of the most interesting attractions isLago di Vagli, one of the largest hydroelectric basins in Italy, but its fame is due to the ghost town of Fabbriche di Careggine. The waters of the lake, going up, submerged this small medieval hamlet of blacksmiths from Brescia. Today it is possible to visit what remains of this charming little village only when the lake gets emptied. Do not forget the “suspended rope bridge” that allows you to walk directly to the lake, the nearby “Park of Honor and Disgrace” and for the bravest “The Flight of the Angel”, an exciting launch in the valley.

Castiglione di Garfagnana

Ancient fortified village with a rock on the highest part of the town where the inhabited center was developed, which for defense purposes was “sculptured”, that is, surrounded by tall walls joined by watchtowers, still today can be admired the walkways of ronda and the tight loopholes for external control. The Church of St. Michael is of particular interest with its white and pink stone facade. Do not miss the medieval bridge linking the pedestrian street to Chiozza.

Mount Sumbra (m. 1746)

The Sumbra with its massive skirt dominates the Lake of Vagli, it looks like a squatting animal who ponders the lake or a Sphinx sitting on its shadow, and this is exactly what the origin of its name suggests, because in fact the Sumbra always projects the Shadow on Himself Like a Sphinx. Mountain with singular shapes: steep and slippery hills, covered slopes of forests, steep and steep walls that spring up vertically to the valley, forming drifts with giant leaps (Giant mufflers).

Mount Pania della Croce (m. 1859)

It is considered the Queen of the Apuan Alps. Since ancient times, impressed men for his majesty, even though he is not the tallest summit. The peak is characterized by a metal cross, perhaps from here the name. The panorama is one of the most beautiful that you can admire on the Apennine, on all the Apuan Alps, on the sea and on the islands that from there you almost feel to touch with a finger.

Mount Forato (m. 1221)

Characterized by the striking natural arch joining two peaks of similar height, creating a large hole visible both from Garfagnana and Versilia and giving the name to the entire rock group. Formed from the erosive action of water and wind on limestone rock over time, but surely the most fascinating is the legend where the hole is nothing more than a bad head of the Devil slapped by San Pellegrino, tired of torment and temptations of the Devil himself.

Orrido di Botri

The Orrido di Botri is a harsh and imposing limestone groove, narrow and deep with steep walls excavated by the Rio Pelago torrent; For this characteristic it is known as the Canyon of Tuscany, dominated by peaks that touch the 2000 m. Since 1971 it has Protected Nature Reserve with limited access. It is possible to admire a variety of flowers and plants and animals and birds, amongst them all to remember the royal eagles who chose these steep walls to grow their own little ones.

Barga

Awarded the title of the most beautiful hamlet in Italy, it’s a place without time where it is fascinating to travel through its narrow, winding streets with splendid pavements that lead us to small squares and ancient palaces with a certain architectural irregularity similar to the Florentine palaces. The town is dominated by the Duomo, one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture, surrounded by a large garden that can remind us of an ancient Roman public square. At a few miles Castelvecchio Pascoli, a town very dear to Giovanni Pascoli, where you can visit the home-museum of the poet “of small things”.

Hermitage of Calomini

Nearby Gallicano you can visit the Hermitage of Calomini, a singular medieval monastery in good state of conservation, located at the bottom of a wall over the overhanging mountain. The beautiful chapel carved into the rock as much of the Convent, reminding and defending the place where the Virgin Mary appeared to a young shepherdess in the mountains of the place, it’s very suggestive.

Maddalena bridge (aka Devil's Bridge, Borgo a Mozzano)

It is an unusual medieval stone building, built around 1100 by the Countess Matilde Di Canossa near Borgo a Mozzano. Its “back-to-back” structure gives it something mysterious, thanks also to the tall, subtle central arcade that has always amazed people and inspired them in order to create stories and legends including that of being the Devil’s work. Legend tells about the agreement between the chief worker and the Devil because of the bridge’s delay. The Devil would end the bridge in one night in return for the first soul to cross the bridge itself. The bridge was miraculously finished and the Devil cheated because the first one who crossed it was a pig.

Wind Cave

Located in the Regional Park of the Apuan Alps at the center of one of the harshest and most striking areas of the Pania Secca. It has this name for the violent flow of air that travels it, due to the two entrances located at different dimensions. You can cross tunnels and tunnels washed by water, adorable halls of stalagmites that appear as white teeth, while stalactites hanging from the ceiling oozing droplets of water, walls enriched by castings and draperies that blend from white to orange, pass between crystalline ponds and streams to reach large vertical wells of inexplicable beauty. The variety of underground landscapes, the vibrant and brilliant concretes, the beauty of limestone rock with its extraordinary shades, make the Wind Cave a true encyclopedia of the underground world, visited every year by many tourists. For more information, visit www.grottadelvento.com.

Passo della Focolaccia (m. 1640)

The Focolaccia Pass is a great crossing between Mount Cavallo and Mount Tambura, two beautiful summits of the rugged Apuan Alps. Nearby there is a marble quarry, where you can see all the most modern mining techniques available. Going along Serenaia Valley you reach this passage and you can admire the breathtaking landscape of Mount Pisanino and the nearby sea. Here again we find L’Aronte: the first and oldest refuge built on the Apuan Alps.

The PIZZO D'UCCELLO (M.1781)

It is certainly the Prince of the Apuan peaks for climbing with its beautiful north wall, a challenge for many climbers coming from all over Italy. Wherever you look at it, it has a rocky, severe, alpine, almost dolomitic pyramid shape and is therefore called the “Apuan Matterhorn”. Its name is related to the presence of crows that nest here and the presence of the Royal Eagle in the past. It is an impressive mountain with slender hinges and equipped with railways that allow you to appreciate the charm of this unique mountain on every side and in total security.

The PISANINO (M.1946)

Mount Pisanino is the undisputed king of the Apuan Alps, located at the northernmost part of the homonymous park, stands out for its height among the other peaks, dominating all surrounding ravines. Come to the summit, where we will find not a cross, but a small marble Madonna in a niche, repays the difficult climb: on particularly clear days are visible Elba, Capraria, Gorgona, Corsica, the peaks of the Alpes Marittime. If you look down, the crown of King Pisanino is reflected in the waters of Lake Gramolazzo.

Saint Island Hamlet

The hamlet was and is still a point of the Via Francigena; an old hamlet of stone-roofed houses around the church by a mountain pond, a real gem among the Apuan ridges: a magical place where time has stopped.

THE SMALL THEATER OF VETRIANO

Set among stone houses and narrow paved alleys in this hamlet, with its seventy square meters is the smallest historic theater in the world. In this jewel we find all the elements of the nineteenth-century theater: a double order of stages, the hall, a frescoed foyer, an original curtain with the effigy of Dante Alighieri and above all stands an old carbide chandelier. For this and for a thousand other reasons it is nicknamed by the inhabitants of the small village: La Bomboniera (the bonbonniere).

MUSEUM OF MARANELLO

The Maranello Museum, is the only one that tells the myth of yesterday’s and today’s Ferrari, sinking its roots in the history of the “Cavallino Rampante”: you can admire the most famous and victorious Formula 1, the models of sports and tourism, the most significant models among road users. A unique and engaging trip through the cars that have made the history of car racing on the slopes and roads around the world.

Buffardello Park

The Adventure Buffardello Park is a real novelty in the deep Garfagnana. An ancient wood of three hectares and half, nearby the Orecchiella Park, with an awesome view on the Apuans Alps and the Verrucole Fortress.

Inside the Park there are pic-nic areas with tables, free to use barbecues, a play area for kids, a bar with a toilet and a wide green relax area.

THE PARK ACCESS IS FREE FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT ATTENDING THE ITINERARIES.

http://www.selvadelbuffardello.it