If you have already been at Borgo Grondaie you know that at the Hall, near the internet point, there is a bookrack with a book entitled 'Toscana, Places of harmony' which was given us by Antonella and Caterina, the instructors of Nordic Walking. In this book there are wonderful pictures taken by Andrea Bonfanti.
Every day I had a look at this book when I was at work looking for some new places to visit in Tuscany and... every time I was impressed by a picture of a Medieval bridge situated in a village called Borgo a Mozzano that is a little bit far from Siena, about two hours and half but... just a week ago I had the opportunity to go there and verify if this bridge was so beautiful like in the picture and it is indeed.
I went there with Mauro, a friend of Borgo Grondaie who every year come from Adria, a town in Veneto, to visit us.
Before to leave we checked directions on Google maps but at the end of our trip we realized that they were not so good. On Michelin there were better directions. Anyway....
We took the freeway from Siena to Florence, then took the 3rd exit onto the E35 ramp to Firenze/Bologna/A11/Pisa Nord, merged onto A1 /E35, took the exit onto A11/E76 toward E80/Genova/Pisa Nord/A12/Livorno and took the exit Capannori BUT we suggest you to take exit Lucca and then the SP12 toward Borgo a Mozzano.
When we arrived we left the car at the beginning of the village, went downtown by walk till the end of that where on the right side we found the Bridge
of the Maddalena, probably dating from the 14th century. Re-christened by popular fantasy the Devil’s Bridge, it spans the Serchio with four arches of different breadth and height. According to legend, it was the devil who complited its construction in exchange for the soul of the first person to cross it.
It worth a visit, believe me!
In the village there is nothing special to see but the Bridge is really suggestive. We went over that, bought some snacks at the Bar near the Restaurant located at the bottom of the Bridge and sat down in the garden seats to admire the scenic view all around.
Looking in the map for another place to visit nearby Borgo a Mozzano, Mauro saw that we were very close to Barga, a village well known to the italians because a famous italian poet of the last century, Giovanni Pascoli, was inspired by the sound of the clock tower of the cathedral bell in writing the poem 'L'ora a Barga' (the hour at Barga).To reach this village from Borgo a Mozzano we took again the SP12.
It is a Medieval town clinging to a terrace on the left of the Serchio. It is a picturesque labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes called 'carraie' (because they are like tiers) converging toward the broad grassy square of Ardingo, at the top of the village, on which rises the Duomo, of late Medieval origin but continuously renovated over the centuries.I liked very much this village. We walked all around, took some pictures and then stopped for dinner at a restaurant located outside the walls and called 'Il Ponte'
I definitively suggest this trip to those who stay at Borgo Grondaie for more days and decide to visit Lucca and its countryside or also to those who stop in Lucca.Lucca is a wonderful town, famous for its square-shaped ellipse, its walls and its churchs including that of San Martino where you can admire the sculpture of Ilaria del Carretto made by Jacopo della Quercia.
by Amina
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