Tuscany: Alpi Apuane mountains
Posted by Sam Harrison on June 17, 2014 at 15:45.
alpi apuane apennine mountains italy pisa trekking tuscany
Handy references for the Alpi Apuane
- Interactive online map
- Walk ideas from turismo.intoscana.it
- Bus timetables for Vai Bus (page 151 for the Pietrasanta to Levigliana bus)
- Train timetables for all of Italy
Indeed, a quarry track provided access to the mountains for the walk I had chosen. Early on Friday morning, I had caught the train to Pietrasanta and then the bi-daily bus from there to the little mountain village of Levigliani. From there, a tireless few miles up the zigzagging quarry track had lead me to one of the more popular attractions of the region; the Antro del Corchia, a huge 70-km underground cave system (one of Europe's largest) residing under Monte Corchia, the "Empty Mountain".
Levigliani; a marble miner's town set in the Alpi Apuane
I'd already realised that the map I had bought was useless (this online map is far better), so instead I trusted the trail signs that were pointing me in the direction of the Rifugio del Freo. The aim for the day was to climb the Pania Della Croce, which at 1895m is one of the tallest peaks in the park, and the rifugio sits at the base of the final long climb to the summit. I was concious that the rather spare bus timings meant I had under 6 hours to make the full round trip, and so I made haste up the narrow zigzagging path up from the Antro del Corchia.
The quarry works had left the route up to the pass from Levigliani feeling sparse and desert-like in places, and the contrasting greenery of tree-covered hill tops and Alpine-esque meadows was more than welcome when I reached the Passo dell'Alpino, spoilt only by electricity pylons making their way up to the refugio. A kilometre or so along that flat brought me through woodland to the refugio, where I started the climb to the summit on another small zigzagging path, this time up a steep grassy hillside strewn with limestone outcrops.
En-route from the Passo dell'Alpino to the Pania della Croce
The mountains have a feel of the Pyrenees about them, but without the swathes of mountaineers and trekkers; in fact, the only person I saw all day was a rather large Italian gentleman sunbathing just past the refugio. This peace and serenity was a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Cinque Terre the previous day, and I thoroughly enjoyed the solitude it brought.
The grassy slopes of the Pania Della Croce eventually gave way to its rocky summit ridges, and after a bit of easy scrambling I reached the top, to be greeted by a 4-metre-high metal cross. The sky had become increasingly cloudier as I made the ascent and I was in the cloud when I first got to the summit. That coupled with aforementioned cross put a bit of a downer on the experience, but the clouds soon cleared up and the resultant views were more than enough to make up for it. I'd set a good pace on the ascent and so I had plenty of time to relax and take in the superb scenery, which I did duly before starting the descent via the same route. Had I the time, I would have tagged on Pania Della Croce's neighbouring summit of Pania Secca to make a more circular loop, however I didn't want to risk missing the last bus and having to walk the 20km back down to the train station.
At the Callare della Pania with the Pania Secca in the background
Myself on the summit of Pania della Croce
Monte Corchia and the Refugio del Freo on the descent
The Alpi Apuane and its network of criss-crossing paths and tracks is a fantastic area that I would love to explore more. May seems an ideal time to visit the region; it's quiet, the temperatures aren't too hot and most of the winter's snows will have disappeared. I'll definitely be making a return visit!