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ROCK STORY: the marble mountain system
Setting: Italy, Tuscany, Apuan Alps range.
trip: 4 days/3 nights
activity: hut-based mountain walking
level: Easy/Moderate.Average walking times: 4 hours/day
shelter: Rifugio ”G. Del Freo”, 1180 m. a.s.l. Stazzema LU
transport: private means, on foot.
group size: min. 5, aged over 14.
assistance: English speaking Apuan Alps Park Guide
luggage: to be loaded onto cableway.
Meeting point: Parking Levigliani di Stazzema LU, GPS: 44°01'18,51” N; 10°17'07,49” E
If environmental features generally influence our daily life, in a mountain range like the Apuan Alps this is even more evident: its limestone substrate, wild orography and the climate have always had heavy effects on the ecology as well as on of the inhabitant's lifestyle and culture.
Monte Corchia is a clear example of it: the marble and chestnut cultures are tightly bound to the physical charachters of mature karst, here the modelling of rock and subsoil by water forces the peopel's activities into a delicate patchwork of natural and human factors.
This is a daily roundwalk program based in mountain hut “G. Del Freo”, on the eastern slopes of Monte Corchia in the very heart of the natural park. The hut rises on a crossroad of eight trails and can be reached within one hour on well marked muletracks. Luggage is loaded onto a cableway.
Qualified park guides will illustrate the natural, cultural and industrial aspects of this mountain in four dedicated daywalks and evening slideshows on the next day's topics.
Themes of the day are:
geological setting, rocks, marble
traditional agriculture
karst systems and the role of water
marble production and its industrial and artistic uses
ITINERARY in short (Detailed programme always available on request)
Friday Visit to the Marble Museum in Levigliani with introduction to sedimentary rocks in general and marble in particular, its quarrying and use. Quarry worker's lunch. Further on foot to the hut.
Saturday Guided roundwalk to the only farm in the valley: they still produce chestnut flower in the traditional way. Lunch at the farm.
Sunday Guided walk to the top of the mountain: quarrying marble in karst areas. Packed lunch.
Monday Guided visit to Italy's biggest underground system, then down to Pietrasanta, famous for its marble and bronze artisans. Lunch at a worker's eating house, then visits to a marble workshop. Aperitif in the Piazza, greetings.
Max. daily ascent and descent: +440 m., — 440 m.
Safety reasons may induce the guide to adapt the programme
