Appennine Mountains

On Sunday afternoon, I suddenly decided to take my motorcycle, ride to the foothills, leave the bike there, and hike the Monte Mauro loop, including the climb to the summit. The Monte Mauro loop is a classic route in the Vena del Gesso area. Wooded areas alternate with exposed stretches below the summit of Monte Mauro, where you literally walk on chalk outcrops. The trail is well marked, but you have to pay attention to the path because there are often alternatives (also marked) that can confuse you. It is an enjoyable short tour. ...

From Corezzo, a short hiking loop along the park’s oldest mule tracks. The Serra Pass mule track is one of the most fascinating in the entire Casentino territory, if only for the tangible memory of the millions of feet that have trodden, traveled, and worn it down over the centuries. It connected – and still connects – the upper Savio valley with that of Corsalone, branching off from the Romagna valley floor near the Gualchiere (about 2 km south of Bagno di Romagna) and climbing up the Nasseto ridge to reach the summit ridge at a pass that isn’t exactly low (1,150 m), but evidently “convenient” for other reasons, given that its use is documented as early as prehistoric times and experienced an intense period with medieval pilgrimages directed to Rome and later to La Verna. ...

I went hiking in my beloved Foreste Casentinesi National Park a few weeks ago. This trip has been on my radar for a long time, a circular tour of incomparable beauty among wild environments like very few others in the area. Among the many ways to reach the La Lama, it is undoubtedly the best way to visit the ancient forests surrounding the beautiful, partly marshy plateau between rocky crags. The initial detour to Mount Penna is motivated by the rare panoramic view, perhaps the most beautiful in the entire park, as if from a wide-open balcony overlooking the sea of forests below. ...