Antro del Corchia

Introduction

Description

The starting point of the excursion into the Antro del Corchia is located on the edge of the Apuan Alps Park, in the hinterland of Versilia, 600 metres above sea level. It can be reached by car via the Arni provincial road, passing through Seravezza, Ruosina and Retingnano. Levigliani is 24 km from Massa, 29 from Viareggio, 48 from Lucca, 32 from Castelnuovo Garfagnana, 57 from Pisa. Versilia A12 'Genova- Rosignano" at 20 Km Forte dei Marmi" railway station 16 Km away Galileo Galilei" Airport in Pisa 61 Km away Scheduled bus service: C.L.A.P. Set in the Apuan Alps Park and close to the villages of Levigliani and Terrinca (in the territory of the Municipality of Stazzema in Upper Versilia), Monte Corchia (1678 m), is located in the southern sector of the Apuan Alps, along the main watershed of the same mountain range: it is a carbonate massif with steep sides, with grassy slopes at the summit, carved by cirques and other forms of the last glaciation. With 5 million years of geological history behind it, the Antro del Corchia is Italy's largest karst system. 60 km of tunnels and shafts, 1200 m of maximum height difference make it the third deepest cave in Italy. These are just some of the numbers of the Antro del Corchia, the largest karst system in Italy and one of the largest in Europe, which since August 2001 can be visited by tourists thanks to the creation of a fully equipped and illuminated route with an almost horizontal course.

Trail and clothing information

Total length of the route: 1978m; maximum height difference: 43m (total height difference a/r: 356m), walking time with stops: approx. 2h00'. The route uses approximately 646m of stainless steel footbridges, with a total of 204 elements. The air temperature remains more or less constant throughout the year at around 7.6°C. It is necessary to wear at least a jumper and hiking boots or rubber-soled shoes.

Visit bookings

Guesthouse of the Apuan Alps Regional Park Levigliani di Stazzema (Lucca) via IV Novembre, 70 Tel./fax 0584/778405 e-mail: info@antrocorchia.it website: www.antrocorchia.it

Nearby there is something to see

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• Puntato, Col di Favilla, Campanice: ancient alpine pastures on the inner slope of Monte Corchia
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• Marble quarries: clinging to the steep slopes of the Corchia mountainside, they produce some varieties of marble, the most appreciated of which is a breccia called arabesque with large marble fragments immersed in a dark matrix.
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• Foce di Mosceta: a wide grassy crevice located between Monte Corchia and Pania della Croce, once the main pass connecting Versilia to Garfagnana via paths and mule tracks (near the C.A.I. 'Del Freo' refuge).
• Torbiera di Fociomboli: in Retrocorchia, on the flat bottom of a Wurmian glacial cirque, is the largest and most important 'wetland' of the Apuan Alps. A custodian of rare plants of particular geobotanical value, it preserves, in the silt and peat deposits of the subsoil, fossil pollens that document the climatic events and phlogistic alternations of the glacial and postglacial periods.
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