p r e s e n t s
North West Tuscany for the Independent Tourist
IN PICTURES
Tour 19: Bagnone, Castello di Malgrate, La Piazza dei Parchi, and Fivizzano in Festival Mood
A most interesting and rewarding aspect of independent travel is the ability upon impulse to turn plans upside down, go here or there, or simply stay put for hours in one place. 
With no particular curriculum, no compelling agenda, no one to meet, and nowhere to be, we are free to roam wherever, and in whichever direction we please. Should we spy something intriguing as we glide along our blissful Lunigiana country lanes we are ready willing and able to peel from our course and investigate to our heart’s desire. Today’s tour illustrates this point quite nicely as we slowly make our way from the picturesque town of Bagnone to the equally beautiful Fivizzano. 
Along the way we will investigate the intriguing Castello di Malgrate, complete with its magnificent Rapunzel tower, and the perplexing Piazza dei Parchi. Finally we arrive at our day’s destination in perfect time to eat, drink and be merry at Fivizzano’s big May festival. I say “arrive” as we will be riding today’s tour in quite some style from the vantage of a classic Italian scooter. 
So before we get on our way I suggest that you pick out the one for yourself as you scroll your way down through the gallery of beautiful vehicles, and whoever you wish to accompany you on the pillion seat is entirely your business. But as all this is taking place in our mind’s eye I’m sure the proud owners of these lovely machines won’t mind us pretending to borrow them this one time. Just please, ride safely.
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For those following the tour in the literal sense of the word I would suggest that this might be an excellent place to rent a scooter. The roads are relatively empty and the country lanes are utterly gorgeous. When I attempted to rent a scooter further south in Lucca the rates were shockingly expensive. But whatever vehicle, or mode of transport, the delightful wild-flower-covered country lanes of both Lunigiana and Garafangana – our next destination – make for the most wonderful journeying. Progress however is ponderously slow when measured in kilometers per hour due to the frequency of compelling stops along the way. One slight detail I feel I must add is that while Lunigiana announces itself as The Land of a Hundred castles very few of them appear open to the public at any one given time, at least that was the case in May of 2014, and when they are hours tend to be quixotically brief. So if you do find one open for business do not hesitate, hop right on in. On a final note may I suggest, when perusing the lovely scooters pictured below you look at them all, admire each one, and then decide upon the very first one posted at the head of the others as a nod to my own personal preference. Way, way back when, as a lad still in school I proudly restored my own version of this much beloved scooter. Duel leather seats, long, sleek and engineered to glide. But I certainly don’t wish to sway you, and so I’ll let you decide. (Go on…. pick the Lambretta, you will not be sorry).
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Bagnone
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Castello di Malgrate, Villafranca
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The Piazza dei Parchi of Pietro Cascella, Rometta
“The Piazza dei Parchi of Pietro Cascella in Rometta, is an important point of intersection where the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines National Park, the Apuan Alps Regional Park and the Cinque Terre Park meet. Here these three entities, so different but so near in morphology and borders, come together as one. Created in 2011, designed by the sculptor from Fivizzano Pietro Cascella, this large piazza is made out of the material that is a symbol of this territory: marble. A modern artistic element that blends into its surroundings, near the railway of the much traveled train line Aulla-Lucca. Along this itinerary its easy to observe the nature in Lunigiana, the top of the Appennino mountains on one side, the beauties of Equi Terme and the Apuan Alps on the other. In the piazza there is a tourist information center to gather brochures about Lunigiana, maps and diagrams about the curiosities and major places of interest in the territory. A while ago the Bottega dei Parchi shop was inaugurated, a sales point that is a window onto the typical food and wine produced locally in these three park territories. Inside the shop is host to wine tastings presentations and special events, occasions where tourists can mingle directly with local producers to learn more. Recently, right here in the Piazza dei Parchi was inaugurated the first of thirteen oasis’ called Oasi del Pellegrino della Lunigiana with a purifier that supplies visitors with fresh drinking water”…source: Trame du Lunigiana….click for more.
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Fivizzano in Festival Mood
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and now
the slideshow
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~↓~
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next
The North West Tuscan Way: In Pictures
Tour 20: Barga and the Wind Caves
coming soon
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thanks for visiting martincooney.com
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m∂Γτ!∩
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