Copyright for map belongs to Ramble Worldwide.

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
T S Eliot - The Four Quartets

I spent ages once back from the holiday looking for a simple explanation of where we went, and which walks were in the Apuans, and which were in the Apennines. All that happened was I bogged down in websites detailing the geology in much (confusing to me) detail.

When all I needed to do was look at the holiday information dossier and tealeaf Ramble Worldwide's map - I hope they don't mind.

Hence the T S Eliot quote :-)

To keep it simple...

The Apuans are an area of mostly limestone mountains to the South and West of Castelnuova di Garfagnana and Passo dei Carpinelli - these are the places we stayed.

The Apennines are to the North and East of where we stayed and were more rounded and mostly sandstone. The Apennines are a very long range of Mountains that form the "backbone" of Italy

In general the first week we walked in the Apuans, and the second week we walked in the Apennines, but just to confuse matters one walk in the second week ended up where another walk started in the first week.

The Garfagnana valley separates the mountains - sort of - in reality they horseshoe round Castelnouvo del Garfagnana and where we stayed in the second week - Passo dei Carpenelli - was on the horseshoe.

Lucca was our free day out in the first week. Pisa was where we landed, and Cinque Terre is where we had the boat trip on the last day.

The holiday was two weeks, with one set of 16 convivial guests and David our Ramble Worldwide leader.

Tags:   Ramble Worldwide Ramblers Holidays Apuans and Apennines Tuscany Italy

© All Rights Reserved

Also known as Ponte del Diavolo.

Our break stop on the way between landing at Pisa and our first hotel in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, a welcome drink and comfort stop.

We had been driven past the walled city of Lucca (a surprise for me, it isn't on a hill) and the bridge was about 20km north.

lovefromtuscany.com/devils-bridge-tuscany

"Bridges were a constant source of wonder in Medieval times. These awe-inspiring constructions would join two sites that nature had originally divided. The gravity-defying structures looked quite unearthly and it seemed almost impossible that they had been built by human hands. Built to be strong enough to support merchants’ heavy carts, their shapes cast eerie reflections in the water that flowed beneath them."

Tags:   Ramble Worldwide Ramblers Holidays Apuans and Apennines Tuscany Italy

© All Rights Reserved

It looks peaceful and it was, it was also very hot.

The stop was about half way between Lucca and our hotel, it took me a while to find it on the map. Lucca is north of Pisa where we landed.

Tags:   Ramble Worldwide Ramblers Holidays Apuans and Apennines Tuscany Italy

© All Rights Reserved

Some more from lovefromtuscany.com/devils-bridge-tuscany

"So, who was responsible for it? The devil, of course. The man appointed to build the bridge despaired at being unable to finish his job on time. So Lucifer approached him and kindly offered to help. The man was deeply grateful, and couldn’t believe his luck. But of course, there was a price to pay. “The first soul who crosses the bridge will be mine” said the devil, ready with the contract in his hand. The man agreed. After all, what was a single soul in exchange for a bridge that would bring money and travellers to the town?

It took a single night for the unholy creature to complete this majestic bridge over the river Serchio. The following morning, when the man saw the imposing bridge reflected in the water, he finally realised what he had done. He ran to his confessor and told him everything. “Don’t worry” said the priest’ “we’ll send a pig to cross the bridge before anyone else”. The devil, outwitted, and scorned, dove into the Serchio never to be seen again."

brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/itineraries/place/MaddalenaBridge...

The arch on the left is for the railway - we saw the bridge (not quick enough for a photo) when we had a free day in Lucca via the train later in the week.

"The Maddalena Bridge owes its name to the sixteenth-century aedicule (no longer existent) on the left bank of the Serchio River in the vicinity of Borgo a Mozzano. Also known as Ponte del Diavolo (Devil’s bridge) for an old legend, it was probably built by order of Countess Mathilde of Canossa. With its peculiar "donkey back" structure and asymmetrical arches, it is a wonderful example of medieval engineering. It was later restored by Castruccio Castracani, condottiere and lord of Lucca in the early 14th century. In order to preserve its structure integral, in 1670 the General Council of the Republic of Lucca prohibited the transportation of millstones over it. A flood in 1836 caused serious damage to the structure, but the greatest alteration to the work occurred in the early 20th century when a new arch was made to enable the passage of the railway. The "donkey back" of this spectacular bridge can today be crossed on foot."

Tags:   Ramble Worldwide Ramblers Holidays Apuans and Apennines Tuscany Italy

© All Rights Reserved

In the garden of our hotel for the week, Hotel Lanterna, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana

Tags:   Ramble Worldwide Ramblers Holidays Apuans and Apennines Tuscany Italy

© All Rights Reserved