The Tuscan-Emilian Apennines National Park Between Europe and the Mediterranean Sea

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1 Visitor Centres Information & Hospitality The Tuscan-Emilian Apennines National Park Between Europe and the Mediterranean Sea Between the Po River Valley and the Ligurian Sea and Tuscany the Apennine mountains rise for a long section to an altitude of 2000 meters or higher. The Tuscan-Emilian Apennines National Park extends either side of this mountain ridge which is a natural and geographical border as well as a cultural and climatic one between Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. This area offers a great variety of landscape, natural vegetation and historical sites. The Park is like an extraordinary kaleidoscope which changes its colours and the variety of things to do depending on the change of the seasons. There are countless reasons to visit and to get to know the Park better: the flora and fauna, the small villages and their traditions, the cultivation and production of local products and the various trails and waterways. Visitor Centres All the services are always available. How it works. Our Visitor Centres are designed to introduce you to the Park and its special features. They offer information and opportunities for real experiences. The Visitor Centres combine professional hospitality with the area s characteristic friendliness. They have a modern organization able to offer many services 24/7. The holiday farms were chosen near the Apennine ridge in accessible, populated villages to emphasize the strong link between the ordinary life of the mountain communities and this peoples park where the main feature is the steady settling of active and productive communities. The services offered go far beyond the traditional ones found in similar centres: historical and local information and documentation, training

2 courses and information technolgy, in addition to the usual refreshments, accommodation, sale of local products and learning activities. The staff of the Visitor Centre can organize your stay for one day or for an entire vacation. This is possible because the type of management used is based on the principle that private initiative is more adaptable and can therefore respond better to the various needs of a diverse public. A public which has always received complete satisfaction from the staff of our Visitor Centres. Contact us: Parco nazionale Appennino tosco-emiliano via Comunale, Sassalbo di Fivizzano (MS) Fax info@parcoappennino.it - Succiso The holiday farm is 1,000 meters above sea level in the village of Succiso, at the foot of the actual Alps which rise to 2,017 meters. The guest accommodation is in a log building and consists of six bedrooms with bathrooms, a small market selling local products, and a restaurant with a bar. Adjoining the building is a large hall which houses the Park s Visitor Centre, an information desk where you can consult archives and research local history. The visitors to the Centre feel very much at home in the friendly, welcoming atmosphere. The restaurant offers traditional homemade dishes based on lamb, mushrooms, venison, and pasta stuffed with ricotta and herbs. The Succiso holiday farm is the starting point for excursions to the most enchanting mountain of the Park: the Alpe di Succiso (see cover). With its 2000 meters of woods, glacial valleys and rocks it represents the true Apennine mountains. In addition the Holiday Farm offers ten indoor horse boxes and an outdoor enclosure. Bikes may be rented and in winter snowshoes and Nordic walking equipment. The Cooperative, managing the Holiday Farm, produces the famous Succiso Pecorino Cheese, according to the specifications of Pecorino Reggiano PDO.

3 Agriturismo Valle dei Cavalieri Via Caduti XXV Novembre, 46 Succiso Ramiseto (RE) info@valledeicavalieri.it - Lagdei This is a comfortable lodge situated in the ancient Val Parma forest in an area characterized by many Apennine glacial lakes. It is a little more than an hour's drive from Parma and La Spezia and half an hour from Berceto (A15 PR-SP). The refuge has bedrooms with and without bathrooms and by including the use of an annex called The House in the Woods can accommodate 44 guests. The restaurant offers traditional dishes and home made pies as well as sausages from Parma and typical mountain recipes. Lagdei is the ideal place to stay to experience the Park; it is the starting point for the most beautiful walks; it is an ideal area for mountain biking, alpine skiing and snowshoeing. The huge meadows surrounding the Refuge are ideal for families with children to enjoy. The Refuge staff organizes a year long calendar of cultural events, guided tours, gourmet evenings, and star gazing at the night sky. There is an especially equipped room to host environmentally themed courses and workshops. At the information desk you will find excursion maps and guide books; in the shop there are souvenirs, wines and local products such as the Spongata di Corniglio (a sponge cake from an ancient local recipe) and chestnut biscuits baked in the Refuge s gastronomic experimental kitchen. The mountain refuge has been awarded the ECO Designation of Environmental Quality by the Department of Parks and Nature Reserves of the Province of Parma. Always open on Saturdays and Sundays. It also opens on weekdays from the 15th of June to the 15th of September and from the 26th of December to the 6th of January. Rifugio Lagdei Loc. Lagdei, Bosco di Corniglio Corniglio (PR) Tel Mobile info@rifugiolagdei.it -

4 Apella To the south of the Apennines, overlooking the Apuan Alps, lies the village of Apella with its ancient tower, headquarters since 1995 of Green Mountain farm holidays, today it is one of the Park s Visitor Centres. In this unspoilt area, the tourist will find the natural beauty and history of Tuscany, the most beautiful region in the world. The holiday farm has rooms and small apartments built during the renovation and careful restoration of the ancient village of Apella. The excellent traditional kitchen offers typical dishes such as herb pies, bread pasta, pattona, pasta with mushrooms and lamb cooked from an ancient local recipe. There is an outdoor pool and sports equipment is available for rent. There are also for sale home made local products such as Lunigiana POD chestnut and acacia honey, PDO chestnut flour and corn meal made from an ancient corn named ottofile. These are just some examples of the things that guests and lovers of good food and healthy living can find here. Next to the holiday farm is a biopark teaching facility where it is possible to learn about local varieties of plants, fruits and animals. A rich network of paths can be explored easily all year long, however we advise you to come during spring and autumn if you wish to enjoy the quiet and the bright spectrum of the landscape s changing colours. Nearby, do not miss the workshops of Licciana Nardi and the Park s laboratories. A few miles away you can visit the Gulf of the Poets, and the towns of Portovenere and Lerici and the very famous Cinque Terre. Thanks to Apella s strategic location, Forte dei Marmi and Viareggia and the area of Versilia are easily accessible, as well as Florence, Genoa and Pisa. Agriturismo Montagna Verde Via per Apella, 1 Apella Licciana Nardi (MS) Tel Mobile info@montagnaverde.it;

5 Ponteccio In Tuscany, in the heart of the ancient small village of Ponteccio, the hotel Il Castagno is the ideal place to stay for those who wish to treat themselves to a holiday based on a healthy and natural life style. Here the visitor will rediscover real food and enjoy the peace and quiet of the century-old chestnut and beech trees which surround the building. The family-run hotel has10 double bedrooms all with bathrooms. The restaurant offers the best of the delicious traditional specialities, all made with locally grown ingredients among which the spelt and the mushrooms are outstanding. At Il Castagno visitors will enjoy the warm hospitality characteristic of the people of the Garfagnana, an area of great historical and natural importance. Trekking, mountaineering, hiking, mountain biking or horseback riding are just a few of the pursuits available to guests. Do not miss the nearby Orechiella Nature Reserve with its centre of flora and fauna, or the Pania di Corfino, the only limestone mountain in the Park with an unforgettable panoramic view of the Apuan Alps or the wonderful Verrucole fortress overlooking the whole valley of the river Serchio. Locanda Il Castagno Via G. Pascoli, 17 Ponteccio Giuncugnano (LU) mobile: info@locandailcastagno.it -