Hiking in Tuscany, Monte Croce

Olive groves and rolling hills lined with vineyards and dotted with pines and sweeping villas amongst landscaped gardens. This is the image most of us have of Tuscany. Soaring mountains, sheer cliffs alps? These are certainly features I didn't expect to find in this region. When I first arrived in Lucca I was struck by the surrounding landscape. The mountains of the Appenines and Alpi Apuane circled the city of Lucca, giving it an almost amphitheatre-like feeling. I immediately felt the urge to explore these mountains and I set about collecting some information to find out if is was possible. I visited the local tourist information office and they loaded me with an armful of brochures and maps. When sifting through these, it was difficult to make heads or tales out of the information and there certainly wasn't any mention of access, where to start and finish and whether there were guides who could take you. Without access to a car, I resigned myself to exploring the paths accessible from the city. These took me into low lying hills within 10km from the town. These were peaceful and beautiful but I knew they were not the "real thing". 

I was lucky enough to find a wonderful Lucchese girl who I met a few times a week for Italian conversation lessons. She happened to mention that her boyfriend was passionate about mountain biking, hiking and the beauty of the mountains. She told me he was very interested in taking people on the amazing hikes he had created through the alps. I immediately jumped on the opportunity. Within a few short days I met Tiziano and in broken Italian and English on both of our parts, we had our date set and he was to pick me up in Lucca in his silver Fiat.

With Ruby, my 11 year old daughter in tow, feet adorned in hiking shoes and my backpack filled with water, lunch, first aid supplies and an extra thin layer of clothes as a precaution off we set to the piazza where we agreed to meet. Blessed with a near-perfect Spring day with temperatures forecast for the mid 20s, I was simmering with excitement. The scruffy bearded Tiziano greeted us at the prescribed time and we clambered into the 2 door car. Within minutes from Lucca we were heading along the Serchio river, through Bagni di Lucca towards the hills. A sharp left turn had us winding up nail biting narrow roads with nothing but a sheer drop towards the river on one side and the steep mountain on the other. Not much traffic uses this road but it is a popular cycling route so Tiziano took it easy and sounded his horn at almost every bend to alert oncoming cyclists. After a squirmish 30 minutes of lefts and rights we reached the town of Pioppo, a tiny village where our walk was to start. Nothing more than a few cars parked at the base of a cluster of houses formed the town. 

With backpacks positioned and a quick stretch to wade off the stiffness from the 1 hour journey, we set off behind an old abandoned stone hut along the path that circled behind the village and towards the start of a pathway marked 135 by the CAI (Club Alpino Italiano). The path headed through fields of tall grass sprinkled with Spring wild flowers and then into forest land full of beech, chestnut, pine and ash trees. The path was rocky and blanketed with dried chestnut tree leaves. The peace was only interrupted by the sounds of our scraping feet, mumblings of "Bellissimo" and the sweet call from a single cookoo bird somewhere in the surrounding trees. The view was of rolling hillsides dotted with farms and valleys with faraway mountains. Every now and then a stone hut-like shrine would appear along the path. Some of these were completely empty and others had religious symbols or memorials inside. Ruby decided each one could be her home. She was quite happy to live there. 

The path started to climb and a few bends of the path were a little tricky to navigate but generally the iconic red and white striped signage was visible enough to lead us in the right direction. Soon the climb evened out to a junction where a small group if Italians were enjoying a picnic lunch under the shade of the trees. We had walked about an hour by this stage. Our path at this point switched to the 108, leading us towards the summit of Mont Croce. After a few more minutes we rounded a corner where the trees opened up to reveal a jaw dropping view, an introduction of what was to come. There to our right was our first glimpse of Pania della Croce mountain. I now understand why it is the most famous and most photographed scenes amongst the alps. Blue skies and fields carpeted in daffodils and assorted wild flowers added to the spectacular display. We could see clearly the path ahead of us. A sheer climb up grass covered steep slopes lead to a summit marked with a cross. Already a cluster of hikers could be seen as dots on the mountain top. A dirt goat track marked our way and it was heavy breathing for the next 45minutes. It was a thrilling journey with the magnificent views literally surrounding us. 

On reaching the summit and taking the obligatory photo next to the cross, we sat on the thick tufts of grass amongst the flowers to enjoy lunch at the best "restaurant" possible. The Michelin star panino I made was happily washed down with spring water and you couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I gaped at the view. It looked postcard perfect and un-real. A 360 degree view of the sea in one direction (albeit obscured today by low lying sea mist), valleys with numerous townships positioned in crevices, the Appenines and the Alps all could be seen from the summit.

Heading back down the mountain was actually more challenging. The dirt and rocky path was extremely steep so small quick steps were needed for balance and to control the speed of descent. The flowers on the hillsides gave them a look of being carpeted in snow. We were extremely lucky with our timing as Tiziano explained the the flowers only last a few short weeks. 

 

The 108 path can be followed the entire way down but it does exit at a lower lying village and would require an extra uphill climb to our starting point. Instead, Tiziano discovered a unmarked route that circles back to our starting point. First, we needed to pass through a rocky canyon on a very narrow ledge that required the use of a chain (ie a chain is secured to the cliff face and you hold it for support as you walk along the ledge). Once across the ledge we left path 108 which forks to the right and we headed left. After about 15 minutes around a bend we found..... nothing! The path had fallen victim to a recent landslide and it simply stopped. We could see the path continue again about 10m away. Between us and the continuing path was a 3m drop consisting of chunky rocks. The rocks appeared climbable so I indicated to Tiziano (who was looking a little baffled) that I thought it was possible to cross. I instructed Ruby to follow Tiziano and we carefully and slowly positioned our hands and feet to first manoeuvre down and then climb back up the rock fall. It all added to the adventure and all was fine. Once we made the crossing the path exited the canyon and we were back amongst the forest of trees. A further 45 minutes of track traversed the valley and swung us back yo our starting point.

The difficulty (ascent of about 500m) distance and duration (about 4-5 hours) of the walk was perfect for walkers with reasonable fitness and the absence of knee issues. When we were lunching on the summit, an 86 year old white haired lady also arrived at the summit. What a great effort! I would highly recommend this magnificent experience to nature loving and active travellers to Tuscany. In my view, you haven't seen Tuscany until you've experienced a hike in the Alps (along with the chianti, San vinto, Vernaccia wines, the pecorino cheese, the prosciutto and the bucellato). 

With dizzy heads and weary legs on our drive home I asked Tiziano if he was tired and he replied, a good tired. I totally agree!