By bike from the Appennines to Pistoia

The route supplements the train to gain all the difference in height that will then be lost during the ride. It comprises 20 pleasant kilometers, taking us from the Reno Valley to the Ombrone Valley, the two main rivers of the province which run in opposite directions, one toward the Adriatic, the other toward the Tyrrhenian. Thus we pass from the wooded Apennines to hills covered with olive groves and dotted with small villages until we reach Pistoia, passing through the Parco monumentale di Villa Puccini and arriving in the historic town center.

Once we arrive at the station in Pracchia, we begin riding gently up the Reno Valley on a paved road as far as Pontepetri, a mountain village with a beautiful 17th-century small-sized church and the old railwaystation of the FAP, Ferrovia Alto Pistoiese, now one of the seats of the Ecomuseo della Montagna Pistoiese, included in the itinerario del Ferro.

Leaving Pontepetri, we take an uphill forest road that will let us to gain the point of maximum altitude (755 meters above seal level), a watershed between the Reno and Ombrone valleys and a panoramic viewpoint over Pistoia and Montalbano.

From here, on a steady descent, we arrive at the village of Piteccio, a historic station of the Porrettana Railway and a place affected by the war events of World War II, including the destruction of the railway bridge, an architectural marvel. 

From Piteccio we go down, along a paved road, always slightly downhill, to the romantic park of Scornio, known to all the inhabitants of Pistoia as the Villone Puccini, on the outskirts of the city. In the park, frequented by all who seek peace and relaxation in the greenery, we still appreciate the visionary architectural creations of Niccolò Puccini, an eclectic 19th-century philanthropist. The works celebrate the great men of thought and science and also the beauty of nature. 

Itinerary curated by Tuscany Hiking