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.
