The best family-friendly hikes and walks in Area Naturale Protetta Di Interesse Locale Monte Castellare

Villa Belvedere, commonly known as Villa Bosniaski or "Villa del Polacco", is a fascinating 19th-century ruin located on the summit of Monte Castellare, in the Monti Pisani, in the municipality of San Giuliano Terme (Pisa). Built in 1881, the villa was constructed as a profound testament of love by the Polish doctor and scientist Sigismondo De Bosniaski for his wife, the Russian countess Elisa di Rulikowski. The structure, originally developed on three levels with twelve rooms, housed a renowned collection of Carboniferous fossils extracted from the Monti Pisani themselves in the basement, which is now kept at the Natural History Museum of the Certosa di Calci.

The Eremo di San Giorgio della Spelonca is an ancient medieval monastic site located on the Monti Pisani, precisely on the slopes of Monte Cupola, on the border between the provinces of Pisa and Lucca. Founded in 1190 by priests Onesto and Dolce, the complex was born as a reception and religious assistance point managed by the "black hermits". Today it is a much-appreciated destination for trekking and history lovers for its mystical atmosphere and the unspoiled nature that surrounds it.

Monte Moriglion di Penna is a peak 543 meters high located in the Pisani Mountains, in Tuscany, between the municipalities of San Giuliano Terme and Lucca. It is the highest mountain in the northern part of the mountain range and offers an open view of the plain of Lucca, Pisa, and the Apuan Alps.

The Passo di Dante is a scenic pass located at 335 meters above sea level in the Monti Pisani, the mountain range that historically separates the cities of Pisa and Lucca. This place owes its name to a famous mention by Dante Alighieri in Canto XXXIII of the Inferno in the Divine Comedy (verses 28-30). In the text, Count Ugolino recounts a premonitory dream in which Monte Pisano is described as the mountain "per che i Pisan veder Lucca non ponno" (through which the Pisans cannot see Lucca).

Nice difference in altitude

Relatively low peak with a nice view! Warning: the climb from San Lorenzo to Vaccoli is very rewarding and fun if you consider the altitude at which you move. If you want something more challenging you can climb from S. Maria del Giudice and choose the path on the right at the fork marked with 2 blue sections that climbs with short rocky sections and loose rocks. There are some easy climbing sections and if you want you can add others if you move away from the path for a moment. Obviously be careful if you intend to climb up, it is necessary to check what you take in your hands because not everything you touch is good, there are flakes and rocks "only supported".

Among these paths there is one that takes its name from Dante Alighieri, the most important and well-known poet of our country. It is the “Passo di Dante”, a beautiful panoramic point from which you can see Pisa and the sea as well as continuing to Santa Maria del Giudice entering the suggestive forest that will accompany us for a long and easily passable journey.

I recommend using poles, and not doing it downhill shortly after the rain like I did (risking my ankle going off)