Pure nature in the Lucca countryside

Yes, you are in Tuscany, but in an alternative Tuscany. Here there are hills, but also mountains: the landscape changes with the altitude, until it leads you, amidst thick chestnut groves and beech forests, amidst metati (small stone huts built in the woods to dry chestnuts that were then turned into flour) and high-altitude pastures, to the Prade Garfagnine, a vast plateau bordering the Modena area. Il Ciocco is the ideal destination for families, couples and young people who, without sacrificing comfort, want to spend a weekend or a holiday immersed in the nature of a Tuscany just waiting to be discovered. 

Sport & Adventure in Tuscany

Biking, Trekking, Enduro, Rafting & Canyoning, between the Apuan Alps and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines 

Il Ciocco and the upper part of the Serchio Valley offer endless possibilities for anyone looking for adrenaline.
Exciting excursions, on foot or by bike, in the most intense greenery, off-road adventures to discover breath-taking views, journeys hundreds of years back through pristine gorges where water still continues to delve inside the earth. 

Culture & Tradition in Tuscany

‘Father put a large oak log on the fire; rinsed the glasses with wine; tipped out the last drops; and poured the wine slowly, so that it would not foam up’ (Giovanni Pascoli, ‘Il Ciocco’, 1903).

Barga, the heart and centre of the Media Valle del Serchio, is an exceptionally charming medieval town, among the "most beautiful villages in Italy. It was also the adoptive home of poet Giovanni Pascoli, who decided to spend part of his life in a villa at the foot of Il Ciocco, now a museum open for guided tours.
Here, in what Pascoli loved to call the ‘Valley of the Beautiful and the Good’, urban life becomes a memory. Once past the suggestive arches of the Ponte del Diavolo – Devil's Bridge – everything changes: fortresses, villages and castles perched on hillsides, accompanied by deeply different traditions and rhythms.

Food&Wine

Peasant traditions and local ingredients: the cuisine of the Garfagnana and Valle del Serchio areas delights the palate with genuine flavours and ancient recipes. Precious products from the earth such as mushrooms, chestnuts and cereals are the basis of simple and hearty dishes such as spelt soup, tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, fritters made with neccio (chestnut) flour, and castagnaccio. There are even fresh water specialities, sheep's milk cheese, and cured meats protected by the Slow Food Association accompanied by our potato bread made from wheat flour and mashed boiled potatoes. Delight in a gourmet experience at Locanda Alla Posta or Taverna dello Scoiattolo.