The Counties of spelt by bike

The path of the Counties of spelt starts from Piazza al Serchio, the most important municipality in Upper Garfagnana. A crossroads of roads entering the valley from the Pradarena Pass and the Carpinelli Pass, the town stands at the confluence of the two arms of the Serchio river, which from the "doglioni di Sala" (the doglioni are volcanic black rocks), with its course, draws the valley as far as Lucca and flows, after 111 kilometers, into the Tyrrhenian Sea at Bocca di Serchio.

From the parish church of St. Peter the Apostle, we climb in the direction of S. Anastasio - Cogna among fields where spelt and forage crops are cultivated, to reach the small village of Ponteccio, surrounded by centuries-old chestnut woods. We take the road to the right leaving the pavement just before the village of Dalli and move forward on a dirt road well known for the beauty of the forests that it crosses and also for the mushrooms that can be found in them. We are in the "Roman coast," which we will follow to Lamastrone, where the small lake surrounded by green landscape is an oasis of peace. We now take downhill the road (Provincial Road 72) that in a short time will take us to the village of Sillano, founded, it is told, by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Silla on his way to Gaul, stranded here by a long and snowy winter.

From Sillano we enter the Soraggio Valley, one of the most beautiful and wildest in the whole of Garfagnana. Rocca Soraggio deserves a stop to visit the small village that is now uninhabited, perched around the church from which you can enjoy a picturesque view of the valley. From Villa Soraggio, where we cross the bridge on the Apennine branch of the Serchio river, the road begins to climb in the direction of Lake Vicaglia, the passage over the dam is preceded by two short tunnels to watch out for. Still going uphill we pass by alpine pastures of rare beauty, such as Pratomaleta and Casini di Corte. When we reach a wide intersection, we make a right-hand turn downhill in the direction of Caprignana, where more spelt fields await us (it may be useful to know that if we continue a few meters from the intersection in the direction of the Visitor Center of the Orecchiella Park, there stands “Il Fontanone”, a large stone trough where the water is always fresh).

Once we move beyond Caprignana, at the crossroads at Orzaglia we make a right-end turn to close the route on Piazza al Serchio.