From Reggio Emilia to Sarzana crossing the Apennines, a walk in Lunigiana retracing the ancient Este borders between the duchies of Emilia and Tuscany

Eleventh stage of the Trail of the Ducatis, which traces in its itinerary the fifteenth stage of the Lunigiana Trekking, a trail on the slopes of the Apuan Alps that leads through one of the wildest corners of Lunigiana to a view of the sea near the fascinating castle of Fosdinovo.

From Monzone along the municipal road we reach Isolano where we take a path that leads us to Terma and then to Pieve di Viano. We are in the “Pioero”, the ancient Mount Piviere that owes its name precisely to the presence of this ancient and important religious building, following the path we reach Campiglione, the beautiful village of Viano its tower and the village of Cecina. Reaching Bardine, we climb towards Marciaso and then head for Pulica, thus entering the municipality of Fosdinovo, which we soon reach.

From Reggio Emilia to Sarzana crossing the Apennines, a walk in Lunigiana retracing the ancient Este borders between the duchies of Emilia and Tuscany

Tenth stage of the Trail of the Ducatis, corresponds in its itinerary to the fourteenth stage of the Lunigiana trekking. From the village of Casola brief trespass into the neighboring province of Lucca to reach Pieve San Lorenzo and Argigliano, from where an ancient mule track immersed in chestnut groves climbs up to Ugliancaldo, a charming village with a splendid view of the Apuan Alps and the Lucido stream valley below.

From here we quickly descend to Equi Terme, a small but interesting spa and tourist center in eastern Lunigiana, where the famous Grotte complex is worth a visit, with its geological museum and Tecchia, an archaeological and paleontological site of international renown. From Equi one ascends slightly to Aiola and from there continues to Monzone.

From Reggio Emilia to Sarzana crossing the Apennines, a walk in Lunigiana retracing the ancient Este borders between the duchies of Emilia and Tuscany

The eighth stage of the Sentiero dei Ducati trail from the village of Rigoso (PR) enters Lunigiana from the Lagastrello Pass, a bioclimatic and agro-climatic border between continental Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Reaching the Giogo Pass following the CAI 00 trail, we head toward the villages of Torsana and Camporaghena, true gems of stone and rock in the heart of the National Park of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, now inhabited by very few people

From Camporaghena, below the slopes of Mount Alto and the eponymous Groppi, we follow the trail first on a beautiful mule track with several votive chapels and then on gently sloping meadows until we reach the Marinella meadows, an elevation prairie and interesting area used for grazing and cultivation since ancient times, known for its spring blooms and for some sinkholes in the area. From here we follow the path from above the former chalk quarry that gives the village its name to Sassalbo.

From Reggio Emilia to Sarzana crossing the Apennines, a walk in Lunigiana retracing the ancient Este borders between the duchies of Emilia and Tuscany

The ninth stage of the Sentiero dei Ducati, the second on Lunigiana land, runs at the foot of the Apennine ridge, pointing toward the Apuan Alps, which show off their main peaks in many sections of the route. From the village of Sassalbo we ascend to the SS 63 Cerreto road and, once we cross it, we walk toward the Giogo di Vendaso, retracing the route of the Lunigiana Trekking and the Apuan variant of the Sentiero Italia.

Once we reach Prati di Massicciano, a wide clearing with a splendid view of the Apuan Alps and the southern walls of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, we begin a long descent toward Restì locality and the village of Mommio, from where we then climb back up to Passo Cadin. From here we descend toward the village of Regnano and once we reach Regnano Villa, we cross the Via del Volto Santo, which we follow in the opposite direction until we reach Castiglioncello. From here we turn and still following Trekking Lunigiana, we arrive at the beautiful village of Casola.