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ABETONE
The heart of the most equipped and most famous ski resort
in the Central Italy, Abetone is located at 1388 metres height,
surrounded by marvellous tops covered with a thick forests. In the
winter, Abetone is the paradise for the Tuscans who love winter
sports, while in the summer it hosts people who want to relax in
an uncontaminated nature or practise sports. Abetone got its name
in the 18th century when a big fir-tree was cut down to give place
to the road Via Modenese.
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The
first village of Abetone was developed around the road yard of the
Via Modenese, but the area was a crossroad during the Roman period
when the Romans crossed the strategic passes which connected the north
and the south of the peninsula. In 1732, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany,
started the building of the new road between Pistoia and Emilia Romagna,
with the opening of the Via Modenese. New houses, inns and workshops
opened, while the surrounding forests , a border landscape between
the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Republic of Lucca and the Duchy of
Modena, became the shelter for refugees and hermits.
After having going through a big crisis, followed by the unification
of Italy, the Abetone experienced a revival thanks to the tourists
in the beginning of the 20th century. The noble families of Italy
discovered the mountain resorts and in the idea to transform the Val
di Luce into a big ski resort with hotels, ski runs and cable cars,
started in the 30's. The WWII stopped the work and was only continued
many years later thanks to champions from the Abetone, such as Zeno
Colò.
In the surroundings of Abetone, you have to visit the village of Boscolungo,
at the border between Tuscany and Emilia. When the road Via Modenese
was under construction it also generated an inn, a post office and
a toll station. Today only the post office is open but has been transformed
into a hotel . The building of the Chiesa di San Leopoldo of Boscolungo,
named after San Leopoldo, in honour of the Grand Duke of Tuscany,
started only some years after the opening of the Via Modenese. The
sober church opened in 1784..
To witness the border identity of the Abetone we only have
two pyramids from the opening of the pass of the Abetone with one
on the side of the Duchy of Modena and the other pyramid on the side
of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The two pyramids represent the border
of the two states and were built in stone and decorated with marble
by skilled Tuscan maestri. From Abetone you reach many sport and naturalistic
sites with trekking trails of different difficulties. It is easy to
reach the Belvedere of Abetone, over the village Le Regine, where
you dominate a extraordinary view over the valley of Sestaione. At
Abetone you also find the Botanical and Forest Gardens, where the
five itineraries set by the Eco-museum of the Pistoiese Mountain.
From Boscolungo, after a half hour walk, you reach Monte Maiori, a
panoramic plateau facing the valley of Fiumalbo and the chain of Cimone.
Two more hours of walk and you reach the top of the Libro Aperto,
an exceptional panoramic site.
If you are still going strong you can keep on walking for another
two hours to get to the top of the Cimone, which is the highest peak
of the Tuscan.Emilian Apennine with its 2165 metres.
You also easily reach the Val di Luce, a skiing paradise which features
interesting summer attractions too. The Val di Luce is plotted with
small lakes, which with the ice in the winter feature a marvellous
contrast of light which has given the name to the valley. In the 30's,
the engineer of Abetone, Lapo Farinati, designed a project to transform
the Val di Luce into a sport paradise. But the work was interrupted
by WWII and the great project only ended up with a hotel named after
the engineer, perched on a spur at 1700 metres. |
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