I arrived in Bagni di Lucca to very cold temperatures, as cold as I have ever known it to be here. After depositing my luggage in the apartment I headed off to visit friends. I didn’t get far when I ran into our Dutch friend Agostino who was heading off into the mountains to look at the snowy landscape. Would you like to come? Of course I would. I rushed home to grab my camera and a warm hat and we were off.
We turned off the main road just before Gallicano in the direction of Fabbriche di Vallico into the beautiful Alpi Apuane (Apuan Alps). The recent snowfalls have turned the area into a gorgeous winter wonderland.
Our first stop was the impossibly beautiful little bridge, Il Pontaccio over the Turrite Cava, the little stream which is part of the Serchio river. The bridge was built from local river stones in the 14th century and restored in 2004. Its coating of snow only made it more gorgeous.
There are several extremely cute little villages along the road to our destination, Alto Matanna. I have to go back to investigate a few of these. Fabbriche di Vallico is a delightful cluster of tumble down house that need much more attention. I will be back.
The already narrow roads are made worse with the snow. Fortunately there were not too many cars about.
We parked in the grounds of the Refugio and set off for a walk though the snow covered fields.
As it turned we didn’t get all that far as the snow was very deep in parts. I sank to my bottom on a couple of occasions and had to be hauled out, not a pretty sight.
Anyway, this is what we found.
Just look at that gorgeous sky!
That is Agostino, my trusty guide forging on ahead, looking for soft spots.
We saw animal tracks in the snow.
It was incredibly still and quiet.
There were some beautiful horses feeding near the refugio. One of them seemed to glow in the golden light.
The others were lovely too.
Soon it was time to drag my wet self back to the car and head home.
We took a different route through Pescaglia and more snowy roads and pretty villages.
We came upon a gorgeous little cemetery with a wonderful view over the mountains. What a lovely place to be buried.
Thank you Agostino for a great welcome home to Bagni di Lucca.
