Stage 17

Fiumalbo-Cutigliano

Fiumalbo is the last Emilian municipality on the Via Romea Imperiale: from now on we are in Tuscany! Starting from the Church of San Bartolomeo, Patron Saint, among others, of the town of Fiumalbo and also of our route, and with Monte Cimone on our left, we begin the ascent to Abetone, the most important pass of the entire Apennines for almost 300 years. For the stretch that goes from Fiumalbo to Abetone, Stage 17 corresponds to the “Cammino of San Bartolomeo” another religious pilgrimage route that connects Fiumalbo with Pistoia.
Once we arrive at Abetone we find the two famous “pyramids” placed to celebrate the great eighteenth-century road that radically changed Italian traffic, quickly becoming the most important artery connecting central Italy with the Po Valley and the Habsburg Empire. The empire ruled Austria-Hungary, part of northern Italy and, through descending dynastic branches, also the Duchy of Modena and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Through the beautiful fir forest, with centuries-old trees among which was the one that gave its name to Abetone, and which was cut down for the construction of the road, you descend to the center of Cutigliano, a beautiful tourist town, whose most important monument, the Pretorio Palace, is the witness of historical pasts of great importance for the Pistoia mountains.