Non solo vino! For hikers and for mountaineers, Italy's classic art and cultural scene offers many highlights. High and low mountains, but also countless nature reserves mark the country's "greenest" region.
Marvellous garden scenarios around Florence and hills covered in cypresses can be explored on foot - from the Giardino di Boboli in the south of the Medici metropolis, to the Roman ruins in the high Fiesole, from the birthplace of the ingenious Leonardo to the floral paradise of the Monti della Calvana. Large forests and hidden valleys lure hikers to the Casentino and Mugello, prompting that special discovery. Between the La Verna monastery and the nature reserve by the source of the river Arno you can trace the footsteps of Dante and Saint Frances. Versilia is one of the most spectacular landscapes Italy has to offer: nearly 2000 metre is the difference in altitude between the wide sandy beaches surrounding Viareggio, the world-famous marble quarries around Carrara and the summit of the Apuanian Alps. This new hiking guide will unveil spectacular and also quiet tour destinations. The Garfagnana and the Lunigiana seem almost like the Alps: the rough lime terraces of the Apuanians are in great contrast with the long-drawn, forest-green and flower-covered sandstone crests of the Apennines. Ancient villages, caves and hundreds of lakes render the Lucca and La Spézia hinterland a paradise for tours of the special kind - including sharp mountain paths.
