Easy hikes and walks in the Apennine Mountains

Palazzo Pfanner is a magnificent Baroque palace in the historic center of Lucca, Italy. It is world-famous for its enchanting Italian garden, its monumental external staircase, and its unusual history, which is closely linked to Austrian brewing art. Built in 1660 for the silk merchant family Moriconi, the Austrian master brewer Felix Pfanner took over the residence in the mid-19th century. He established one of Italy's first breweries here, which operated until 1929.

The bronze statue stands prominently on an elevated, tree-lined square directly at the top of Baluardo Santa Maria. This is the bastion that flanks the main southern city gate (Porta San Pietro). The sculpture: It depicts Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy (known as "Padre della Patria" or Liberator of Italy), in uniform with a document in his hand.

Piazza Napoleone, commonly called Piazza Grande by the people of Lucca, is the main square and the nerve center of political, cultural, and social life in Lucca. Located in the southern part of the historic center, it is clearly distinguished from the city's classic dense network of medieval alleys thanks to its majestic rectangular layout and wide Parisian-style geometric lines.

There does not appear to be a statue dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II in Montefiascone. The king's name is associated with Piazza Vittorio Emanuele (the historic heart of the city, also known as Piazza del Popolo), in the center of which is a historic fountain designed by engineer Cesare Tuccimei and inaugurated in 1898, but not a monument celebrating the sovereign.

Very well-preserved large city gate. Lucca is indeed the best-preserved old town.

The Walls of Lucca are one of the most famous historical monuments in Italy, known worldwide for being the only Renaissance city walls to have survived completely intact to this day. Built between 1504 and 1648 mainly to defend against the expansionist ambitions of Florence, they completely surround the historic center of the city. During the 19th century, by the will of Maria Luisa of Bourbon, the military fortification was transformed into an immense elevated public park and a charming tree-lined promenade.

The story of Pupo Nunzio di Roio from October 1919 is one of the most poignant historical tragedies of the Abruzzo region. It symbolises the harsh and dangerous reality of the transumanza (the seasonal migration of livestock), which for centuries determined the economic and social life of this Italian mountain region. This place commemorates one of the most tragic events in the history of the transumanza, the age-old migration where shepherds drove their sheep every summer to the green pastures of Campo Imperatore and returned in the autumn to the warmer plains of Puglia. In the autumn of 1919, the 41-year-old shepherd Nunzio Pupi, better known as Pupo Nunzio, postponed the descent for a few days. The autumn was exceptionally mild, and he wanted to let his flock of no less than 5,000 sheep graze for as long as possible. But the weather unexpectedly turned. A fierce snowstorm caught him by surprise in the middle of the high plain. Together with his two young sons, Idolo (12) and Alfredo (11), and their loyal sheepdog, he became disoriented in the snow. None of them survived the icy storm. The entire flock also perished. According to local legend, his wife Ersilia Caruso could not cope with the loss of her husband, her children, and their sole source of livelihood. She died a short time later, consumed by grief. This moving story recalls the hard life of the shepherds, who were completely dependent on nature and often paid a high price for their existence. About the monument: Monument of Fonte Vetica In Fonte Vetica, on the southeastern plateau of Campo Imperatore, stands an impressive monument commemorating the tragedy of 1919. The Abruzzese sculptor Vicentino Michetti immortalised the shepherd, his two sons, and their dog as they desperately fought against the icy snowstorm. A little further away stands the statue of the mother, with outstretched arms directed towards the mountains, hoping to see her family return alive. Although the monument tells one poignant story, it has become a tribute to all the shepherds of Abruzzo who, over the centuries, risked their lives during the arduous transumanza. Anyone who stops at Fonte Vetica today immediately feels the impressive combination of overwhelming beauty and the unforgiving power of this mountain landscape.

The construction of the hydroelectric dam, designed by Count Eng. Ignazio Prinetti Castelletti, began in 1941, slowed down during wartime, and was completed in 1947 under the supervision of SELT Valdarno (now Enel). In the period 1951-53, the dam was raised by about 30 m, bringing the overall height to about 88-92 m. The ordinary arch and gravity dam, built in concrete, has a crest 150 m long and 5 m wide, while the width at foundation level is about 70 m. The crest is accessible to the public all year round. The lake, artificially formed in 1947 by damming the Edron stream, constitutes the dam's reservoir. Upon filling, the rising lake waters submerged some villages, the main one being Fabbriche di Careggine, a small village of blacksmiths from Brescia, founded in the 13th century, which re-emerges with every emptying of the basin. Since the Vajont disaster, the basin has not been filled beyond 80% of its maximum capacity. The basin holds about 35 million cubic meters of water and is exceptionally emptied in case maintenance intervention is necessary. This has happened four times: in 1958, 1974, 1983, and 1994. In the latter year, almost 1 million tourists from all over the world arrived in Vagli.