Trail n° 826

Italian Alpine Club – Sect. Pistoia

Trail no.826 Larciano Castello -Cecina – Loc.”I Papi” (to trail no. 800)

The starting point is the square of the Church of S. Silvestro and the Rocca. Go down towards the door that opens on the open space where Via Larciano comes from the town of San Rocco; you go down some steps from the road and take a grassy track that goes down between the fields, almost parallel to the road for about 200 m, then, turning abruptly to the left, it enters the wood, crosses a gorge by means of a bridge and climbs the opposite side crossing the asphalt road Via Larciano. It crosses it and goes up the fields on the other side. After about 50 m, there is a unsafe tabernacle and you enter the asphalt Via S. Lucia. Take a short stretch and leave it at a corner to take a unpaved road on the left (locality Colombaia); pass in front of a company that exposes some old olive oil machines then in correspondence of the sign “La Cavallina”, climb a little on your right on a cemented surface trail and immediately after on your left on a grassy path between olive groves. After a short stretch of woodland you go along an olive grove; from here you can admire a wide view of the hill of Monsummano, Montevettolini and, beyond the plain, the Monti Pisani. At a vineyard turn right entering the forest and go down to a farm shed; continue on a flat unpaved road passing next to the farm “La Collina”; continue on a flat unpaved road overcoming the entrance of the farm and shortly after at a cemented stretch you find on your right some unpaved roads. You take the third one along a tabernacle and continuing through a stretch of wood, and going down in a valley where you find an aqueduct system and a large mill renovated but abandoned; turn right onto the unpaved road (this is the Via dei Mulini) that follows for a certain stretch the water course then at a small brick building you leave the unpaved road to take, on your left, a grassy track going slightly uphill. Then enter an olive grove and, on a more challenging climb with some hairpin turns, you come to a unpaved road. Go to your left hand side and after about 200 m you arrive at the parking place which is located at the northern side of the town of Cecina. The small fortified village with the remains of its walls and its church is worth a short visit. You depart from the parking place to the north of the village and walk north about 100 m along the provincial road no. 28 (Via Crocina) then you leave it to take a pleasant unpaved road on your left, between olive groves and small stretches of forest, until you meet an asphalt road (Via Pozzuolo) (km 1.04). Follow it on the right in a steep climb until you find the aforementioned Via Crocina (km 1.33). Here you turn left on Via Case di Monte, a cart track that goes downhill in a valley of the southern slope of Mount Cupoli (m 406).
Near an abandoned house (house number 556), the road makes a hairpin turn and goes up the opposite side to a junction (km 2.34). Take the road on your left (Via dei Rocchi; road sign to Agriturismo Campo Fiorito; road sign Avalon); after about 150 m you touch the elegant farm Campo Fiorito then continuing you find a farmhouse, home to an elfic community. After another 300 m you arrive at a unpaved road at a big concrete pole and a house (Porcile Alto on the map reg. ). This is the trail no. 830 that on the left downhill leads to Montevettolini and then to Grotta Giusti (Monsummano T.). Our itinerary in this stretch coincides with the trail no. 830. It continues on the right uphill and, crossed a panoramic stretch in slight slope, connects to Via Case di Monte (km 3.93) (here with concrete surface). Continue uphill among olive groves along a beautiful house (La Piaggia), then cross a wooded stretch and shortly after the locality Case di Monte; at a short distance from here, you go on your right and arrive at the provincial road no. 27. Here our path ends, meeting the path no. 800 on the ridge: on the left it leads to Serravalle Pistoiese while on the right you go to San Baronto.

Length km 8.300 travel time Outward: h. 3:00 circa Return h. 2:45