Tourist destinations
Introduction

LE CINQUE TERRE AND THE POETS' GULF
The Farm is to be found just a few kilometres from the sea: the atmospheric Cinque Terre (National Park, the protected natural marine area of Cinque Terre and the UNESCO World Heritage), the enchanting Poets' Gulf with the villages of Lerici and Portovenere, the beaches of the island of Palmaria, these are just some of the tourist destinations that can be reached in just a few minutes from the Farm, either directly by car, or by train from the station of La Spezia (there are frequent links with Cinque Terre) or by boat (from La Spezia to Lerici, Portovenere, Isola Palmaria and Cinque Terre).

THE NATURE PARKS
The National Park of Cinque Terre, included at international level among the sites classified as a Cultural and Natural World Heritage by UNESCO, known all over the world for its charming terraced landscape and the characteristic five inhabited settlements: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernaza e Monterosso. The protected natural marine area of Cinque Terre has recently been opened.
The Regional Natural Park of Portovenere, included together with Cinque Terre in the UNESCO World Heritage List, is an area of exceptional natural, historic and panoramic interest. It can be reached by car or from La Spezia by bus or boat. (photo) In the spring, when the plant life is at its maximum splendour of colours and perfumes, it is an especially pleasant experience to walk around the nearby island of Palmaria.

The Park of Magra-Montemarcello, born of the merger of the earlier fluvial park and the protected area of Montemarcello, offers endless opportunities to spend whole days in pleasant and alternative ways: walks along the pathways crossing the luxuriant vegetation of the Mediterranean woodland, visits to the botanic gardens and the picturesque villages full of history, excursions to the fluvial area with its wet zones where water birds nest and where it is still possible to find watermills.

In nearby Tuscany, the Regional Park of the Apuan Alps, an orographic area of great charm, representing one of the most typical and original mountain areas of the Italian peninsula because of the wealth of environmental and landscape beauty it contains, is known all the world over for the splendour of its marble and other decorative and building stones (cipolin, gravel, Cardoso stone).

VAL DI VARA AND THE VILLAGE OF CALICE
A broad green area in the hinterland of the Province of La Spezia, Val di Vara features a remarkable variety of environments whose special physiognomy shows the effects of thousands of years of modelling action by the river of the same name that crosses it. Il terrThis area, with its particularly mild climate, is rich in mixed spontaneous vegetation that includes both the typical essence of the Mediterranean shrubs (broom, heather, arbutus) and the species characteristic of the greater heights (chestnut, ash, alder and oak). Just 5 km from the farm is the medieval village of Calice al Cornoviglio, dominated by the imposing Doria-Malaspina Castle (13th century), where a Centre of Environmental Education of the Magra-Montemarcello Park is housed in its recently renovated rooms, together with an art gallery dedicated to David Beghé and Pietro Rosa, and a Bee-keeping Museum. From the farm, it is also possible to go on foot to the small hamlet of Madrignano with its castle. Among the destinations recommended, a visit should be included to the round burghs of Brugnato and Varese Ligure where the organic cheeses and salamis of the Val di Vara can be tasted.

L’ALTA VIA DEI MONTI LIGURI
Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, an important and ancient way communicating with France, which snakes around for 440 km on the high edge of the mountain ridge, is an itinerary excursion that links the two ends of the Ligure Riviera, running along the Tyrrhenian-Padanian ridge from the Maritime Alps to Ceparana. Due to its geographical position, it forms an integral part of the “excursion project” called Sentiero Italia [Italian Pathways] which already assures the link between Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, Liguria, Tuscany e Umbria (through the high ways of Val d'Aosta, the GTA (Grande Traversata delle Alpi) [The Great Crossing of the Alps] of Piedmont, the GEA (Grande Escursione Appenninica) [Great Appenine Excursion] of Tuscany and the Umbrian pathways, as far as Castelluccio di Norcia). In this stretch, Alta Via dei Monti Liguri runs along the crest between Val di Vara and nearby Lunigiana (Massa-Carrara); the route starts from Ceparana (Comune di Bolano) and after only 17 km reaches a height of 824m at Monte Alpicella, then Monte Gottero (1639m) and Passo del Bocco (956m). Along the way, apart from the magnificent panorama, stops can be made to gaze in appreciation at the broad pastures and varied woods of hornbeam, Turkey oak, birch and, higher up, magnificent beech groves.

LUNIGIANA
Lunigiana, which takes its name from the ancient Roman colony of Luni, founded by the Romans in 177 B.C., is today identified with the Valley of the Magra and its tributaries, reflecting the most significant characteristics of the landscape and the culture of the two regions, Tuscany and Liguria. Visits are recommended to Pontremoli, the town of books and the Bancarella prize, the village of Filattiera and the parish church of Sorano, the small towns of Mulazzo and Montereggio, Bagnone and its surroundings, Fivizzano, also called the Florence of Lunigiana, and the village of Verrucola, the castle of Fosdinovo, and so many other sights.

THE MARBLE QUARRIES
Carrara marble has been known for centuries as the most prestigious building stone, both for its white and its coloured varieties. To visit the marble quarries, leaving Carrara you go in the direction of Fantiscritti, Campocecina from where a wide view can be enjoyed over the quarries below and the marble's transport stages can be followed downwards and then through Pian della Fioba and Isolasanta, in the territory of the Municipality of Massa. It is almost obligatory to make a stop at the small town of Colonnata, famous for its production of bacon fat. In the artistic workshops of Carrara, it is possible to take a close look at the history and workings of the marble.