The best dog-friendly hikes and walks in Parco Provinciale Dei Monti Livornesi

Please take into account that it is very technical and some roads are closed.

Nice trail suitable for everyone and fun.

Near the Sanctuary square there are benches where you can stop and enjoy a beautiful view from Livorno

Montenero Alto is definitely worth a visit, perhaps using (with a normal city bus ticket) the nice funicular that leaves from Piazza delle Carrozze, in Montenero Basso. The Sanctuary dedicated to the Madonna di Montenero, protector of Livorno and Patron Saint of Tuscany, is very interesting; the Church, in rich Baroque style, also houses an impressive collection of humble and rich ex-votos, the result of intense popular devotion over the centuries. In the Famedio, the portico in front of the entrance to the Sanctuary, there are cenotaphs and tombs of people who distinguished themselves in the world of culture, politics, art... who were born or lived in Livorno. Furthermore, from the Sanctuary square and its surroundings you can admire magnificent views from above not only of the city, but - proceeding from southwest to northeast - also of the sea and the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago (and on clear days even of Corsica), of the coast up to Liguria, of the Apuan Alps and of the western Apennines. Finally, going up via della Porcigliana to Castellaccio, you can reach the top of the Montenero hill (over 300 m above sea level) and from here enjoy a wide, splendid panorama.

Presence of water fountain

Eremo della Sambuca (Valle Benedetta - Livorno) The hermitage is located south of the Valle Benedetta in the forest of the Livorno Mountains. Already known in the 13th century as an Augustinian hermitage, one of the many that flourished throughout the Christian West to welcome those who wanted to retreat in prayer far from the noise of the world, in 1390 it took the name of Eremo di Santa Maria in Parrana Among others, the Gesuati penitential friars settled there. The Gesuati (not to be confused with the Jesuits) were born as an association of lay penitents founded in the 14th century by St. Giovanni de' Colombini from Siena. They preached peace, poverty and their main function, in addition to prayer, was to assist the sick, the poor and the needy. They spread throughout Italy and, in particular in Tuscany, founded many convents. The Augustinian hermitage was expanded and strengthened by them with other interventions in the vicinity (cultivations, a water mill, "icehouses"). Precisely because of the holy life that these monks led and because of its position sunken into the valley of the Ugione stream, the hermitage took the name of Santa Buca, or Sambuca. Over time, the Gesuati also took over the administration of the Sanctuary of Montenero. After the Gesuati order was suppressed in 1668 by Pope Clement IX (and their assets confiscated to support the war against the Turks), the complex passed to a series of private owners and followed a long period of decline. The structure consisting of a small church (with a single nave, divided into three bays with a circular apse, cross vaults and remains of frescoes, including an Annunciation), cells, guesthouse, refectory, kitchen, granary, cellar, is in poor condition. Since 1950 the structure has been a state-owned building of the Municipality of Collesalvetti. In 1912 it was declared a national monument and a few years ago it was entrusted to the Parish of Giovanni Gualberto in Valle Benedetta.

Villa Cristina is a scout house. In the summer of 2023 I was also lucky enough to go camping with the Salesians

Ancient Hermitage, whose oldest nucleus dates back to 1100 (small church of Santa Maria di Parrana, with a few cells, Augustinian Fathers of S. Jacopo in Acquaviva), located in the valley of the Ugione torrent, in the Provincial Natural Park of the Livornesi Mountains and in the complex regional agricultural-forestry Livornesi Hills (Valle Benedetta Forest). From 1390 the hermitage took the name of Santa Maria della Sambuca and the penitential Gesuati friars settled there (until 1668, the year of dissolution of the order), with consequent expansion of the structure (church, cells, guesthouse, refectory, kitchen, barn, cellar). A state property since 1950, the Hermitage has been partly renovated with CIPE funds, but is in a state of abandonment and the other two wings (including the beautiful cloister) require urgent conservative restoration. Of great interest for the circuit of existing routes that touch other cultural emergencies such as the remains of mills on the Ugione stream (late 1600s - early 1700s), the ice houses (late 1700s) and other historical-cultural testimonies, as well as naturalistic and geological emergencies.