 HILLS |
NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES |
|
|
LINKS |
|
|
USEFUL SITES |
|
|
TELEPHONE BOOK |
|
|
EDITORIAL STAFF |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
GALLICANO
Gallicano is a centre which was famous in the past for the
handicraft and for the activities connected to the territory. The
confluence of the rivers Serchio and Turrite and the iron mines
at the nearby Apuane Alps have made the mining the main activity
of the area since the 14th century.
|
|
 Today
the arms have been replaced for tourists and from Gallicano depart
many trekking paths and horse roads which cross the Garfagnana. Visit
the Renaissance Pieve dedicated to John the Baptist and the Chiesa
di San Jacopo Maggiore, with origins before the year 1000 which preserves
an altar-piece in terracotta by the Robbia school. The village is
famous for its flag-wavers who have been the Italian champions many
times. It is worth to go around the countryside of Gallicano, in order
to see the castles/villages which originally were the outposts in
the defensive line of the Garfagnana. Vergemoli is a fortified
village embellished with palaces from the 16th century, while the
neighbouring Molazzano, built from the IX century, is the point
of departure if you want to visit the Fortezza di Cascio.
If you cross the river Serchio you reach Fosciandora, famous
the majestic Rocca di Ceserana. The fortified boundary wall goes along
the ridge over the village and in the village you find the Romanesque
Church Sant’Andrea, already mentioned in the papers in the XII
century. The Rocca (Fortress) of Camporgiano remembers the
difficult past of the village located next to the river Serchio, contended
between Lucca, Pisa, Florence and Modena. Today the village is known
for its traditional festivals, and hosts the “International Folklore
Festival” every year in July. Piazza al Serchio is located
near the canyon created by the river, where you can see the remains
of a medieval fortress. In the surroundings you ought to visit the
fortress of San Michele and the ancient brick fortress by Nicciano,
in the heart of a nice fortress completely destroyed by Lucca in 603.
A tour around the Gafagnana has to comprehend a visit to the
villages of the Media Valle del Serchio, Borgo a Mozzano, Bagni di
Lucca, Villa, Coreglia Antelminelli and Barga. Quite far from the
main roads of Tuscany, this part of the flow of the river Serchio
has always remained at the margins of the history, preserving its
nature and testimonies of the past. Borgo a Mozzano is worth
a stop to admire the impudent Ponte del Diavolo (The Devil’s
Bridge), which with its high arches still astonishes the engineers.
Bagni di Lucca is known for its thermal water, discovered
by the Romans. In the 19th century artists and people with money from
all over Europe chose Bagni di Lucca for their holidays and famous
people such as Rossigni, Carducci, Puccini, Byron and Shelley came
here to bathe. The rich tourists left some villas in the neighbourhood
and a charming Casino to visit at Ponte a Serraglio. Not far, at Villa,
you can admire some villas of the noble families of Lucca while if
you continue towards the centre of Garfagnana you reach Coreglia
Antelminelli, another very important holiday resort which features
precious monuments. Apart from a beautiful palace from the 16th century,
which today is the town-hall, and two nice Romanesque churches. Coreglia
Antelminelli features the unique Museo della Figurina di Gesso e dell’Emigrazione.
The last village in the media Valle del Serchio is Barga, an
elegant medieval village which with its sober architecture shows the
almost constant dominance of Florence. The old centre is really marvellous,
almost completely medieval, with the stone-paved streets still preserved.
The most important building in Barga is the Duomo, an excellent example
or religious architecture from the IX century and changed during the
14th century. The sober impression dominates the façade and
the interior of the church, where you find relics, the works by the
Robbia school in the Cappella del Sacramento and a wood statue representing
San Cristofero. Barga during the summer offers a Jazz and an Opera
festival. Not far away you reach the home of Giovanni Pascoli, where
you can visit the poet’s grave, and the Orrido di Botri, one
of the most interesting naturalistic sites in the Garfagnana.
Giuncugnano, a small village with 1000 inhabitants, is called
the “roof of the Garfagnana”, because from the mountain
Monte Tondo just aver the village, you have a view covering the MontiPisani
and the Gulf of La Spezia, reaching almost the Ligurian Alps. The
uncontaminated nature and the presence of a Sanctuary , dedicated
to the Madonna della Guardia, make this place very spiritual. Sillano
is on the other hand a municipality close to the region of Emilia,
the most northern village of the Valle del Serchio, where the main
activities until a few decades ago were the sheep-farming and the
working of timber. The popular traditions are still strong, but the
municipality also organises competitions in motorbikes with sidecars.
San Romano is located at the foot of the Parco dell’Orecchiella
and preserves one of the most significant medieval defensive architecture
of the Garfagnana, the Fortezza delle Verrucole, recently restructured
by the municilapity. The severe architecture of the fortress contrasts
to the Baroque parish church. The Pieve di Sambuca is Romanesque instead,
an is located on a rock-spur.
Aklso visit the nearby village of Sillacagnana where the streets
are paved with cobblestones and almost all the buildings are in grey
stone. If you want to get even closer to the park you can stay at
the Villa Collemandina, surrounded by green areas and forests
announcing the Parco dell’Orecchiella. The small villages of
Villa Collemandina, such as Sassorosso which got its name from
the pink lime-stone with which the houses are build, Corfino
at the foot of the Pania, and Canigiano famous for its fresh
water-springs, are also worth a visit. Not far from here, Pieve
Fosciana, preserves its austere medieval centre surrounded by
modern buildings. It used to be a church here, very frequented by
the people of the Garfagnana, while the village is now most known
for the thermal water of Pra di Lama, a 10 century-old spa.
Just after Pieve Fosciana you can see the powerful embattled
towers of Castiglione Garfagnana, a suggestive village, still
protected by the boundary wall built by Lucca in 1371. The village
offers a very suggestive view and the best way to appreciate its atmosphere
is to walk along the paved streets lined with beautiful palaces. Do
not miss the Romanesque-Gothic façade of the Chiesa di San
Michele and the Chiesa di San Pietro, which bell-tower is perched
on an embattled tower. Make an excursion to San Pellegrino in Alpe,
an exceptional panoramic point which houses the Museo della Civiltà
Contadina.
|
|
 |
|
