Na wstępie autor objaśnia skróty zawarte w przewodniku oraz użyte znaki graficzne, dzięki czemu korzystanie z przewodnika staje się przystępniejsze. Informacje te uzupełniają prezentacje regionów i grup górskich.

W przewodniku znajduje się także omówienie warunków fizyczno-geograficznych, a także informacje praktycze:

• kiedy najlepiej odwiedzać poszczególne regiony górskie
• podaje podstawowe informacje o kraju: jak dojechać, obowiązującą walutę, atrakcje warte zobaczenia

Przewodnik zawiera również rady mające pomóc w przygotowaniu się do bezpiecznej wędrówki górskiej.

Autor opisuje również faunę i florę regionów górskich.

The Great Apennines Trek described in this guide is a walk along the central mountainous spine of Italy, a journey through a vast wooded swathe of the country, miles from the well-beaten tourist trail. The villages and passes encountered see few domestic let alone foreign visitors.

The Trek spends 23 wonderful days (a grand total of 123 hours 35 minutes) snaking its way northwest along the ridge of the central-north Apennines with numerous diversions to valley-based villages. It follows (for the main part) the established long-distance walking route known as the GEA (pronounced "jayah" in Italian), which stands for Grande Escursione Appenninica. Ideated in the 1980s by Florentine walking enthusiasts Alfonso Bietolini and Gianfranco Bracci, it has since been incorporated into the mammoth Sentiero Italia (SI) project and the European trail E1. However, during preparations for this guide, departures from the original route became necessary at numerous points along the way due to impassable overgrown tracks, absence of waymarking and the creeping advance of tarmac, in addition to logical improvements.

Starting in eastern Tuscany on the border with Umbria and the Marche, it makes a number of forays into Emilia-Romagna - with marked changes in accents and cuisine - and moves across to run parallel to the Tyrrhenian Sea heading north to the edge of Liguria. A little under 400km in length (375.6km - about a third of the total length of the Apennine chain), it entails altitudes ranging between 400 and 2000m above sea level. With accommodation in comfortable guest houses and refuges, it is suitable for a broad range of walkers.

The route is straightforward, on well-marked paths and forestry tracks. The odd brief tract negotiates exposed crest, usually avoidable. The terrain ranges from thick carpets of flowered meadows through to rock slopes and woods, where layers of leaf litter provide a soft base for tired feet and the plays of sunlight serve as distractions from fatigue.

The initial southernmost sections of the Trek traverse the multi-star 364 sq km Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, which boasts magnificent spreads of ancient chestnut, fir and beech wood lovingly nurtured by monks over the centuries. Moreover it coincides with the pathways taken by St Francis of Assisi as he tramped the hills setting up isolated retreats and spreading his message of simplicity. The second, higher part of the Trek makes its rocky way "on a tightrope" high above Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, where noteworthy localities stand out. On the eastern flanks, where the Apennines slope down to the intensively cultivated Po plain, is the city of Parma, renowned for cured ham and world-famous Parmesan cheese; then there"s Modena, synonymous with balsamic vinegar. On the opposite side of the Apennines, to the west, is Carrara and the Apuan Alps, heavily quarried for the high-grade marble transformed into Italy"s masterpieces by artists the likes of Michelangelo. On the other hand the actual ridges traversed come under the auspices of the brand new 240 sq km Parco Nazionale dell"Appennino Tosco-Emiliano, which has brought together two high-profile regional parks, the Parco del Gigante and Parco dei Cento Laghi, not to mention four special state reserves.

• Stage 12 - Montepiano to Rifugio Pacini
• Time: 5h 15min
• Distance: 16.6 km/10.3 miles
• Ascent/descent: 760m/460m
• Grade: 2
• Maps: Selca' Alto Appennino Bolognese' 1:50 000 sheet 6 (except very start on sheet 7)

A divine stage leading through a wonderful neverending sea of herringbone crests cloaked in thick woodland 'infested' with deer and dotted with evocative wayside shrines and thirst-quenching springs. You're miles away from it all, circling high above the Bisenzio valley that runs down to the textile town of Prato.

Note: Should Rifugio Pacini be closed, consider either pressing on to Cascina di Spedaletto in the following day's stage (having first ascertained whether or not that is open!), otherwise leave the ridge temporarily for the hamlet of Cantagallo and nearby accommodation. Details are given at Passo del Treppio in Stage 13.

Leave the village of Montepiano due W on the Badia road, a divine avenue past a small lake and bar/pizzeria. A watercourse is crossed then, in the company of toads, it's up to the tranquil hamlet of Badia (10min, phone box, drinking water), which boasts a 12th-century monastery with an exquisite Romanesque portal. The road quickly becomes a lane winding through lovely old beech wood. Bright blue derelict buildings immediately precede a path junction where you fork R (NW) on n.23. The wood thins as you climb to a ridge through clearings covered in orchids and flowering thyme, not to mention the inevitable hunters' hides. A welcome spring, Fonte del Canapale (950m), precedes a hut then a broad white dirt track L. This is the Alpe di Caverzano (1008m, 1hr 20min), the summer quarters for dwellers of the eponymous lower village. Well-tended veggie gardens are very much in evidence.

At an attractive shrine and waymark column, the GEA/00 breaks off NW via a lane then path for more ascent to another evocative tabernacle in wood. The edge of the Parco Regionale Laghi di Suviana e Brasimone is followed in the company of old stone markers, to a fork L up to a great lookout. A narrow slightly exposed but brief stretch leads to a saddle on Monte delle Scalette (1186m) where you're hard put to pinpoint a settlement in the endless sea of green.

Ahead a further scenic corner dominates the village of Fossato gathered on a narrow ridge, then you plunge S to the minor road pass of

3hr - Tabernacolo (968m) and a huge shrine-cum-chapel. Some thoughtful soul has fitted it out with armchairs to the delight of footsore walkers!

An inevitable stiff but shady climb takes you S to the 1139m mark on Poggio La Zucca, but before you have time to enjoy it, the path descends past several path junctions. Further on at Passo delle Pescine, with a moving shrine bearing a colourful ceramic madonna, work of a grateful family in 1948, the GEA does an abrupt swerve R (SW). Minutes after the moss-ridden Fonte di Pluto you cross a surfaced road and follow signs back into the wood for the remaining 15min to a superb clearing housing beautifully modernised

2hr 15min - Rifugio Pacini (1001m) at Pian della Rasa, tel: 0574 956030, CAI, sleeps 25, open July to Aug and often weekends. Emergency room always open but no beds. For information contact CAI Prato tel: 0574 22004 (weekdays after 9pm).

• Introduction
• The Apennines
• The Trek
• When to go
• Access
• Public Transport
• How to Use this Guide
• Emergencies
• Maps
• What to Take
• Accommodation
• Information
• Highlights and Short Walks
• Food and Drink
• Vegetation
• Animal Life
• Background Reading

Route Description

• Stage 1: Bocca Trabaria to Passo di Viamaggio
• Stage 2: Passo di Viamaggio to Caprese Michelangelo
• Stage 3: Caprese Michelangelo to Chiusi La Verna
• Stage 4: Chiusi La Verna to Badia Prataglia
• Stage 5: Badia Prataglia to Camaldoli
• Stage 6: Camaldoli to La Burraia
• Stage 7: La Burraia to Passo del Muraglione
• Stage 8: Passo del Muraglione to Colla di Casaglia
• Stage 9: Colla di Casaglia to Badia Moscheta
• Stage 10: Badia Moscheta to Passo della Futa
• Stage 11: Passo della Futa to Montepiano
• Stage 12: Montepiano to Rifugio Pacini
• Stage 13: Rifugio Pacini to Pracchia
• Stage 14: Pracchia to Lago Scaffaiolo
• Stage 15: Lago Scaffaiolo to abetone
• Stage 16: abetone to Lago Santo Modenese
• Stage 17: Lago sante Modenese to San Pellegrino
• Stage 18: San Pellegrino to Rifugio Battisti
• Stage 19: Rifugio Battisti to Passo di Pradarena
• Stage 20: Passo di Pradarena to Passo del Cerreto
• Stage 21: Passo del Cerreto to Prato Spilla
• Stage 22: Prato Spilla to Lago Santo Parmense
• Stage 23: Lago Santo Parmense to Montelungo

Routs Summary

Italian - English Glossary

Gillian Price has trekked throughout Asia and the Himalayas, but now lives in Venice and is exploring the mountain ranges of Italy to write a series of outstanding Cicerone guides.

Starting in the Italian Dolomites, Gillian has written guides to walking all over Italy as well as Corsica, and is an active member of the Italian Alpine Club and the outdoor Writer's Guild.

She also enjoys leading walking tours.