The best traffic-free bike rides around Brugnato

Well maintained but very busy road

The name Calice al Cornoviglio combines two distinctive elements of the village: "Calice," of uncertain origin but perhaps derived from the Latin calix (cup), referring to the site's concave shape, and "Cornoviglio," the mountain (561 m) that overlooks the village and lends its name to the entire ridge. This toponym appears in medieval documents and recalls the village's ancient connection with the surrounding Apennine territory. Calice was long ruled by the Malaspina dello Spino Secco family, who built a strategic castle there, documented since the 11th century and modified several times over the centuries. Today, the fortress houses the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Chestnut Documentation Center, two testimonies to the profound intertwining of history, spirituality, and the territory's resources. A short distance away is the parish church of Santa Maria Lauretana, an elegant 18th-century Baroque building with exquisite decorations and a polychrome marble high altar. The village comes alive throughout the year with traditional events such as the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto (September), the Chestnut Festival (October) and various summer festivals, which highlight the historical and cultural roots of the place.

During the Second World War, the Pra Bon area, located in the mountainous territory of the Municipality of Zeri (Massa-Carrara), played a strategic role in the supply network organized by the Allies for the partisan formations active in the Ligurian-Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The location, a high grassy expanse located near the Foce di Prabono, was used as a launch field for materials intended for the liberation struggle. Due to its isolated position, difficult to access by land but visible from the sky and large enough to receive airdrops, Pra Bon was ideal for this purpose. Allied aircraft — generally taking off from southern Italy or from bases in Corsica — carried out night airdrops of weapons, ammunition, food, medicines and radio equipment intended for the partisan detachments operating in the area. The materials were parachuted and collected on site by the partisan brigades, who then took care of their distribution and protection. The operations were not without risks. The area was subject to continuous roundups by Nazi-Fascist forces, aware of the logistical importance of those places. In particular, on August 3, 1944, near the nearby Monte Picchiara, a violent clash took place between partisan forces and German troops during one of these roundups. The toponym "Pra Bon" or "Pra Bono", which means "good meadow" in the local dialect, still evokes the memory of that period: from a place of transhumance and summer pasture, it was transformed for a few crucial months into a clandestine hub of the Resistance, a meeting point between the mountains of Lunigiana and the liberated skies.

Here the dirt road runs along the ridge of the mountains between the Vara Valley and the Magra Valley

The houses of the oldest part of the village of Rocchetta di Vara have been extensively remodeled in the past, when no attention was paid to the conservation of the original architecture, which has therefore been lost. The most interesting monument is undoubtedly the parish church of Santa Giustina. Dating back to the 16th century and built on the foundations of the ancient chapel of San Pantaleone, it houses a statue of the church's patron saint.

Coming down from Passo dei Casoni towards Rocchetta di Vara along the SP 32 you come across this rest area at the side of the road.

This section of the ridge dirt road has an easily rideable surface, with modest slopes. The sections with the roughest surface are very short, and in any case always cyclable without problems.

Here the dirt road that runs along the ridge of the mountains between the Vara Valley and the Magra Valley intersects with another dirt road that goes up from Pontremoli (part of the Via dei Monti itinerary).