Villages of Garfagnana, the Most Beautiful to Discover

Garfagnana evokes images of an ancient land immersed in unspoiled nature.

It is a treasure chest nestled between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines, traversed by the Serchio River. A historic region of the province of Lucca, bordered to the east by Emilia-Romagna and to the south by the Media Valley of the Serchio, which over time has captivated illustrious figures such as Giovanni Pascoli.

Garfagnana enchants with medieval villages, ancient fortresses, sensational landscapes, mountain trails, artisan shops, and culinary delights. Stay in Castelnuovo to discover Garfagnana and its most beautiful villages.

"Barga still offers the compact color of the serena stone of its pavements, the gray of its walls, the taste of local pecorino cheese, which can be smelled at the doorstep of the deli, and the sight of artisans weaving woolen fabrics in their shops. Sometimes, in the autumn, even the smell of vin brulé wafts through the narrow alleyways rising from the cellars on Via di Mezzo."

Thus, architect Giuliana Gramigna described Barga, a charming village in Garfagnana, today one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.

Its history begins in 180 B.C. with the Romans, but the village flourished in the Middle Ages.

Through cobblestone streets, alleys, and pathways, one enters the center of Barga from Porta Reale and arrives at the Cathedral, where one can admire the village from above, with the green hills dotted with towns and farmhouses, and the mountainous crown of the Apuan Alps.

It is a Romanesque Cathedral, constructed in several phases from the 11th to the 16th centuries in light blocks of Alberese, a local limestone. Then you'll see the Palazzo Pretorio, which was the residence of the commissioner of Florence from 1341 to 1859 and today houses the Civic Museum.

From the Cathedral square, you descend via a wide staircase to the Church of the Holy Crucifix, featuring a late 16th-century façade and a richly decorated interior with stucco and gold.

On Piazza Salvi stand two buildings in the Florentine style of the 16th century: the Merchants' Loggia and Palazzo Pancrazi, today the seat of the Municipality.

Pass through Piazza Angelio, an outdoor lounge, and you'll arrive at the Teatro dei Differenti, built in 1795 on the site of a previous theater from 1689, by the Academy of Differenti, promoted and supported by the Medici. Then walk along Via di Mezzo, lined with beautiful 18th-century noble palaces, admire the baroque church of the SS. Annunziata (1595) and, outside the center, the Church of San Francesco (15th century).

Barga is a lively village all year round but especially in the summer, when it hosts musical, gastronomic, and cultural festivals such as the Barga Jazz Festival in August.

Just 4 km from Barga is the village of Castelvecchio Pascoli, inextricably linked to Giovanni Pascoli. Here, in fact, is the house that the famous poet purchased and where he lived with his sister Mariù and his dog Gulì. Today the house has become a museum where you can discover Pascoli's strong bond with this place.

"Land of wolves and brigands," is how Ludovico Ariosto defined Garfagnana, where he arrived in 1522 as the Estense commissioner. Castiglione Garfagnana represents better than any other village the wild, rugged, and mountainous character of this part of Tuscany.

Surrounded by woods and mountains, Castiglione Garfagnana was a Roman castrum before being fortified in the Middle Ages.

Here was the most important castle of the Republic of Lucca, defending the border with the Duchy of Modena, along the important road that crossed the Apennines towards the "lands of Lombardy."

The circle of walls and towers that still surrounds the village was built by the Lucchese in 1371.

You enter through the Drawbridge Gate and arrive at Piazza del Castello. Here you will find the Renaissance Palazzo del Parlamento (1509), home of the Vicario and now the Municipality, with the well and the ancient fountain of Pilon embedded in its facade, and to its right, Palazzo Nobili.

Along the current Via Roma face the ancient palaces of the noble families of Castiglione. You will also see the Church of San Michele with its late Gothic façade made of gray stone, red marble, and white marble.

Consecrated in 1197 by the Bishop of Lucca, the Church of San Pietro is built against the fortress that overlooks it. The fortress is an imposing structure with three towers, the largest being the keep. From the towers, you can enjoy a magnificent view that encompasses the entire Garfagnana valley, framed to the west by the massif of the Apuan Alps.

A small village suspended in time at 1,955 feet above sea level, nestled on a long ridge of the Apennines, in the Media Valley of the Serchio.

Surrounded by vast expanses of chestnut trees that rise from the low streams up to the village, Coreglia Antelminelli, today one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy, has been loved by painters like Carlo Carrà, poets like Giuseppe Ungaretti, and philosophers like Guido De Ruggiero and Paolo Lamanna, who were drawn to the enchanting view of the Apuan Alps and the Apennines.

The history of the village is mainly linked to that of the condottiero Castruccio Castracani, a Ghibelline leader who conquered Coreglia in 1316, as well as to the story of the Antelminelli family, who inherited power over the village and the surrounding territory from the condottiero.

In Coreglia, you should not miss the Church of San Martino, pre-Romanesque and one of the oldest in Lucca. Built in the 9th century, it was expanded in the 10th, while the bell tower dates back to 1854. Another gem is the Church of San Michele, built in the year 1000 next to the fortress and the tower, which was later transformed into a bell tower.

Coreglia also boasts several beautiful 16th-century palaces, including the one housing the Municipality, built in 1572, and the Antonimi and Vincenti Palaces. The latter is the birthplace of Benedetto Puccinelli, one of the major Italian botanists of the early 19th century. Dominating the upper part of the village is Palazzo Vanni, which houses the museum of plaster figurines and emigration.

A fairy-tale village nestled on the shores of a small lake, surrounded by chestnut woods and protected by the peaks of the Apuan Alps.

Isola Santa is a marvel of Tuscany, hidden in the historic region of Garfagnana.

The village stands on the ruins of an ancient hospitable, a stopping point for travelers crossing the Apuane, between Versilia and Garfagnana, as this was the only road in the area. Isola Santa has become less frequented since 1880, when the Cipollaio road, the current provincial road of Arni, began to provide much easier connections.

Today it is worth discovering this enchanting village with its stone houses and slate roofs that make up the original nucleus.

In the past, the village was located along the banks of the Turrite Secca stream, but during the 1950s the construction of a dam for hydropower irrevocably changed the landscape. Part of the ancient settlement was submerged by the waters of the artificial basin known as Isola Santa Lake.

After a period of depopulation and abandonment, the historic village has been revived, partially renovated, and transformed into a dispersed hotel.

Isola Santa is now so small that it can be toured in just a few minutes. Here it is worth visiting the ancient church dedicated to San Jacopo, now deconsecrated and completely bare but documented as early as 1260. The church, which faces directly onto the lake, boasts an incredible location and a special bell tower, detached from the main structure.

Isola Santa Lake is swimmable and is also frequented by fishing enthusiasts. Discover the many trails that delve into the thickets and lead to the majestic peaks of the Apuan Alps or to springs and abandoned villages. Note the so-called Marmitte dei Giganti, kettle-shaped holes carved by flooding rivers. Enormous ones can be seen at Fosso del Fatonero and Fosso dell'Anguillaia.

Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is considered the capital and the pulsating heart of Garfagnana. It is located in the northern part of the Serchio River between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines and is about 25 miles from the city of Lucca.

The first records of Castelnuovo date back to the year 740, but the village flourished under Lucchese rule. It is from this time that the bridge built by Castruccio Castracani to connect the castle to the village of Cellabarotti, now known as Santa Lucia, originates. But it was under the dominion of the Estensi that the village reached its peak.

Among the various historical governors of the area, the poet Ludovico Ariosto stands out, who, between 1522 and 1525, served as governor of the Estense province of Garfagnana, lending his name to the fortress, the main attraction of Castelnuovo.

The Rocca Ariostesca is one of the symbols of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana and is located at the beginning of the city center, in Piazza Umberto I. Originally built as a military fortification, the fortress has since become a museum dedicated to Ludovico Ariosto and Garfagnana of the 16th century.

Then visit the cathedral dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, erected in the 15th century in Renaissance style but revisited during the Baroque era. Explore the narrow medieval streets of the historic center before discovering its surroundings.

A short distance from the village, the fortress of Mont'Alfonso, built by Alfonso II d'Este at the end of the 16th century, is worth visiting, offering a splendid view of the Apuan Alps and the Apennines. You can reach the fortress by walking the nearly 6-kilometer Ariosto Trail, dedicated to the great poet. North of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana lies the artificial lake of Pontecosi, built along the course of the Serchio River.

On the Apennine slope of Garfagnana and Media Valley of the Serchio, at an altitude of 5,005 feet, lies the village of San Pellegrino in Alpe, once a stronghold of the territorial defense system and which still dominates the Passo delle Radici.

It is indeed the highest inhabited center in the Apennines, where history blurs with legend. It is said that the ancient village was born from the remains of San Pellegrino, who died in 643 A.D.

According to legend, San Pellegrino, son of the King of Scotland, renounced the crown and began a long pilgrimage through Europe, reaching Italy, where he lived as a hermit until he was almost a hundred years old. His body was supposedly found by a woman thanks to an angel's appearance in a dream.

It was 643 A.D., and at the site where he was found, a sanctuary dedicated to the hermits Pellegrino and Bianco was later established. Even today, San Pellegrino in Alpe is a destination for pilgrims heading to the sanctuary to see the relics of the saints.

The peculiarity of these relics is their position: they lie right on the border between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, so the saints are placed behind the main altar in the urn inside the chapel by Matteo Civitali, resting with their heads and torsos in Emilia and the rest of their bodies in Tuscany.

In San Pellegrino in Alpe, it is also worth visiting the Ethnographic Museum of Don Luigi Pellegrini, located in the ancient hospitable. Anyone wishing to explore the surroundings of the village or arriving on pilgrimage should not miss the Giro del Diavolo. An ancient rite for travelers that will lead you to admire all the Apennines and the Po Valley up to the Alps.

San Romano in Garfagnana is located in the center of a lush green valley of Garfagnana and Media Valley of the Serchio. It is the ideal destination for those who love nature walks and the peace of the mountains.

Inhabited since ancient times, during the medieval period San Romano was divided into two feudal lordships: to the north, the more important one, that of the Gherardinghi, who ruled for a long time from their residence in the Fortress of Verrucole; to the south was the Lordship of the Counts of Bacciano, owners of a castle destroyed during the Renaissance. San Romano in Garfagnana was the subject of bitter disputes until it passed under Estense rule, which lasted until the unification of Italy.

In the village, you must visit the Baroque Church of San Romano Martyr, which houses a large 18th-century organ, and the Pelliccioni-Marazzini Palace, which boasts striking arched terraces.

At the gates of the village stands the Sanctuary of Madonna del Bosco. Don't miss the already mentioned Fortress of Verrucole, equipped with a remarkable polygonal tower and imposing walls. The fortress is also located in an Archeopark, where you are welcomed by actors in medieval costumes.

Among the fractions, you can also visit the medieval village of Naggio, where you can see the chapel of Santa Croce, dating back to the early Middle Ages. Those who enjoy walking in nature can explore the Orecchiella Park, which is the natural reserve of Garfagnana, or the Selva del Buffardello Adventure Park.

The village of Careggine lies at the foot of Mount Sumbra on one of the most beautiful panoramic terraces of Garfagnana.

The first records of Careggine date back to 720, when a chapel was founded, now the parish church. In the 15th century, Careggine came under Estense rule, remaining there, with the only interruption during the Napoleonic period, until 1859, when it became part of the Kingdom of Italy.

Walking through the cobbled streets of the village within the walls, you will reach the Pieve di San Pietro, one of the oldest Romanesque churches in Garfagnana and the Media Valley of the Serchio. It is a Longobard-era building that has undergone several modifications over time.

Those who love walking in nature can take the trail that starts from the Visitor Center of the Apuan Alps Park and leads to Colle dei Monti, a viewpoint overlooking the Apuane and the Apennines, where one of the Big Benches, the giant benches found all over Italy, has been placed. The Passo della Formica is a popular destination for winter sports enthusiasts, attracted by the slopes of Formica and Vianova. Close to Careggine is the village of Isola Santa and Lake Vagli, under which lies the famous submerged town of Fabbriche di Careggine.

The village, known for its ironwork and trade, was flooded in the 1940s due to rising waters from the construction of a dam.

Every 10 years or so, to carry out maintenance work on the dam, the waters of the lake are completely drained from the artificial reservoir and the town of Fabbriche di Careggine reemerges, offering an eerie yet highly suggestive spectacle.