The best walks and hikes in Massa-Carrara

Beautiful grassy plateau, from which you can see neither the sea of Massa Carrara nor the quarry area and, thanks to this isolation, it has something magical! It is reached with an easy walk of about half an hour from the Carrara refuge, in another half hour you can climb Mount Borla or the opposite "Zucco del latte" which offers excellent views. A very suitable place for eating, the only drawback is the lack of water.

The Statue Stele are anthropomorphic vertical stone sculptures, of variable size but generally between 2 and 3 meters in height. These mysterious works of art are testimonies to the culture and spirituality of the ancient peoples who inhabited Lunigiana. Their exact function remains a subject of debate among scholars. Some hypothesize that the Statue Stele could represent ancient gods or local deities, while others suggest they could be funerary symbols or commemorative monuments. The carved figures often feature enigmatic and abstract symbols, such as concentric circles, cupules, and linear engravings, which may have religious, astronomical, or ritualistic significance. The understanding of these symbols is still the subject of research and study by archaeologists and experts.

A beautiful route with a visit to the village of Cerreto Alpi, ascending via trail 649 B and returning via trail 670, which requires extra attention to avoid losing the trail. Excellent views of the surrounding mountains. Worth a hike.

There is a strange magic in this beautiful meadow

Perhaps the best preserved in Lunigiana, high on the hill overlooking the Magra plain. Still belonging to the Malaspina descendants, it has dominated the town since the 12th century and is at the center of numerous legends. With a quadrangular plan, it has four round towers, a semicircular bastion, two internal courtyards, patrol walkways from which you can see the sea and an outpost in the direction of the village. It was originally protected by a drawbridge. The fortress appears as a medieval structure, in fact expanded in the 14th century by Spinetta and Galeotto Malaspina and renovated several times over the centuries. The main entrance welcomes us with a marble shield depicting a dog with a flowering thorn in its mouth, symbol of the friendship between the Malaspina and the Scaligeri of Verona. From the top of the castle you can see the elongated structure of the village, arranged along the hill. There are many legendary stories about the castle of Fosdinovo: from Bianca Malaspina to the Marquise Cristina Pallavicini The Marquise Cristina Pallavicini, who governed the fiefdom for a long time after the death of her husband Ippolito, seems to have been an evil and lustful woman and had the habit of throwing her lovers from the trapdoor at the foot of the bed in her trap room with the torture chamber below. Another legend linked to the castle of Fosdinovo and much older than that of the Marquise Bianca Maria Aloisia, daughter of the Marquis Malaspina, who fell in love with the stableman of the castle and, because of this feeling, was walled up alive together with a wild boar, a symbol of rebellion against the family, and a dog, a symbol of loyalty towards the beloved. Legend has it that, walking through the castle, you can still perceive the presence of the unfortunate princess! Another reason to visit the Malaspina castle is the fact that tradition has it that the “great poet” Dante Alighieri stayed in its rooms, called to Lunigiana in 1306 by the Marquis Franceschino Malaspina.

The Piagnaro Castle is a fortress built in a strategic point to protect the Apennine passes and around which the first medieval nucleus was formed, built around the year 1000. For centuries it has been an integral part of the city's defensive system. In its thousand-year history it has undergone numerous destructions and subsequent reconstructions that have brought it to its current appearance. The Castle maintained its military function until the end of the 18th century. Its name derives from the so-called piagne, the gray sandstone slabs used in Lunigiana to cover the roofs of buildings, including that of the castle.

The Ponte della Cresa is a stone bridge built in the 14th century and despite the frequent flooding of the Verde river, it has maintained its original structure to this day. The bridge connects the new neighborhoods with the historic center. The bridge is located along the Verde river near Porta San Francesco. Under the arch of this bridge, on January 31, the characteristic fire of San Geminiano takes place. The Ponte della Cresa is considered by many to be the true symbol of the city of Pontremoli. It is also interesting to note that the name Pontremoli derives from the Latin 'Pons Tremulus', which means 'unsafe bridge'. This was a term used to describe the original conurbation of the city.

Entrance to Pontremoli from Porta San Francesco