Appennino Tosco Emiliano National Park

www.parcoappennino.it

Apuan Alps Regional Park

www.parcapuane.it

In Lunigiana, in addition to numerous protected sites, you will find two natural parks, the National Park of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Regional Park of the Apuan Alps. For more information, we recommend you contact the Visitor Centers, where in addition to the story of the area, its peculiarities, gadgets and resale of typical products await you. In addition, here trekking enthusiasts will find all the information and cartography to organize their excursion. In Equi Terme, don't miss the opportunity for a visit to the Apuan Geo Lab, a modern museum and interactive laboratory, also suitable for children, to find out everything there is to know about Earth science...

Duration: one day.

Difficulty: medium

For more info and excursions with a qualified guide contact the Scuderia Agriturismo "Il Picchio Verde" Amola - Licciana Nardi - Andrea +39 339 4391276

Departure and return from Agriturismo Il PIcchio Verde - Loc. Molesana (Licciana Nardi)

Departing from Molesana the trail immediately enters the woods and introduces us to the Deglio valley. Skirting the stream surrounded by a wild and luxuriant nature we will arrive in the locality of Cassolana we will cross this small village where time seems to have stopped to climb towards Gabbiana and a path that crosses first chestnut woods and then beech woods until we reach the locality of Pastina where we will stop for lunch in a typical trattoria. We will arrive in Bagnone Municipality of Lunigiana famous for offering one of the many typical Lunigiana products the onion of Treschietto with which the famous Barbotta is cooked. The town is dominated by a marvelous castle that we will reach by crossing ancient and evocative villages and bridges. Leaving behind the Malaspina walls we will resume the forest and on the way back we will visit the beautiful village of virgoletta with a stop to quench our thirst with the fresh water that flows from the famous fountains and crossing a stretch of the via francigena we will return to Molesana.

Protected Area Special Area of Conservation "Gordana Stream Valley"
web: www.strettidigiaredo.org

The Straits of Giaredo are a portion of the larger PROTECTED AREA called the Special Area of Conservation "Gordana Stream Valley." Extending for about 1,000 meters, the Giaredo Straits represent the lower section of the much larger rocky gorge of the Gordana stream that stretches for about 7Km from the village of Noce di Zeri (560m asl) to the abandoned settlement of Giaredo (300m asl), near Pontremoli. Here the watercourse flows between huge rocky blocks and vertical walls.

It can be accessed by guided tours organized by Sigeric during the summer season. The ascent of this gorge is an exciting experience and very interesting because of the special features of the surrounding environment for the fauna, flora and geology of the area. During your hike among the vertical walls you can admire the hanging tree formations of ash and alder, observe the  Scolopendria commune, an interesting whole-leaf fern, indicative of alkaline soils, while it will be possible to encounter the Italic Frog and the Common Toad, as well as, among birds, the Yellow Wagtail and the Grey Heron, and, with a modicum of attention, you may catch sight of the Dipper intent on swimming and diving in the cold water in search of food. If you are lucky, while approaching the Straits Gorge, you may come across the  Spotted salamander, the Alpine newt, theApennine yellow-bellied howler and the Strinati's Geotriton. The latter two species are very rare and, possessing curious and unique ecological and ethological characteristics, are indicative of the excellent natural conservation of the area.

WANT TO VISIT THE STRAITS? FIND OUT SOME USEFUL TIPS

DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL: Equi Terme/ Monzone (Fivizzano)
LENGTH: 4.66 km
DEVELOPMENT: 186 m
DIFFICULTY: E
CARTOGRAPHY: Eastern Lunigiana, Geomedia 2018

n easy hiking trail to discover the environmental, geological and cultural diversity of theUpper Lucido Valley. Within the  Apuan Alps Regional Park the common thread iswater, which over the millennia has carved canyons, valleys and karst and even ancient glaciers, but also gushes out intact with remarkable thermal and healing properties.

Discover the stages of this circular excursion departing from Equi Terme or of Monzone, passing through small medieval villages, ruins of ancient castles, wash houses, factories and sawmills.Along the way you will find panels illustrating the history of this corner of Lunigiana...

Tuscan-Emilian Apennine Park

Via Comunale 23 Sassalbo di Fivizzano (MS)
Tel: 0585 947 200 | 0522 610 516 | 0522 610 527
mail: biosfera@parcoappennino.it

web: www.mabappennino.it

The Apennines is the mountain range backbone of the Italian peninsula. The area of the Reserve established by UNESCO on June 9, 2015, is a significant part of the northern Apennines and, while representing a typical condition of the Apennine-mountainous territory, it is characterized, however, by a unique feature: being a focal point of the Euro-Mediterranean climatic frontier. This characteristic has determined, together with geological heritage and other factors, the setting of a complex ecological and cultural mosaic, which in turn is the basis for the evolution of the landscape. The entire Lunigiana will soon be part of this important area recognized

Grotte di Equi, Geo-Archeo Park (Gestione Coop. AlterEco) Via Buca, Loc. Equi Terme, 54013 Fivizzano (MS)
cell. 338 5814482
mail: info@lunigianasostenibile.it
web: www.grottediequi.it

The Grotte di Equi karst complex is a registered geosite of the Apuan Alps Regional Park, which is a recognized Geopark in the European and Global Geoparks Networks (EGN-GGN) under the auspices of UNESCO.
The Equi cave complex developed over the course of hundreds of thousands of years thanks to the action of water, which over for millennia penetrated into fractures in the calcareous rock, eroding it and leaving behind features of great beauty and naturalistic interest: shafts, galleries, chambers, and underground lakes.
The Equi cave system extends for more than 1000 meters and may be subdivided into three parts.
The “Buca” has been known since the early 1700s and was outfitted for excursions in the early 1960s. It is considered a fossil (“dead” or inactive) area, since water no longer flows in it.
The “Grotte,” or caves as such, were discovered in the mid-1900s and fitted out for excursions in the mid-1980s. This area comprises the active portion of the complex and features a series of linked halls and chambers adorned with an infinite variety of natural mineral formations.
The third and last part of the complex is not open to the general public and is accessible only to speleologists.
The cave tour itinerary passes through the Buca and the Grotte on a path about 500 meters in length.
An underground river runs through the Equi caves and surfaces near the entrance. In case of heavy rains, the cavity is liable to flood and spectacular and violent water outflows into the Fagli stream may occur.

Geo-Archeo-Adventure Park
The Equi Caves Geo-Archeo-Adventure Parkis a site of outstanding natural interest that offers many and diversified activities for the public: geological, naturalistic, paleontological theme visits, adventure trails, and hiking and e-bike excursions. The park comprises the Visitor Centrewith its ApuanGeoLabinteractive earth sciences museum, E-Bike Centrefor bike rentals and guided tours and its well-stocked bookshop; the karst caves complexwith fully-outfitted route for tourist visits and Speleo-Adventureexcursions; an exciting Ziplineaerial runway for bird’s-eye observation of the karst torrent; and the Tecchia prehistoric site, the archaeological exhibition and the Museo delle Grotte.

Il Museo del lavoro
The Museum of Labour, located in the Lucido Valley (Monzone, Ms- currently moving to Equi Terme) and named for the great Carrara-born photographer “Ilario Bessi”, focuses on the valley’s labourers, displaying objects, photographs and videos documenting the nature and historic and cultural effects of the transition from an economy based on farming to the modern industry-driven production system. The Lucido Valley has indeed been characterised by a different form of industrial development compared to the rest of Lunigiana, thanks to the presence of marble and quartzite quarries, brick and mortar kilns, sawmills and hydro-electric power plants used in industrial processes. The Museum also houses a model of the “Balzone” cableway, an exceptional structure built to move marble slabs from Mount Sagro to the nearby Vinca and Monzone valleys. The Museum is therefore a “memory bank” defending and passing down the identity of labour in the past.