MONZONE has a good selection of shops and a trattoria serving some of the best antipasti to be found in the area. It has a station with a local train to Lucca, La Spezia and Pisa, although they do go on the slower more scenic route!
There are good restaurants in Equi Terme, a pizzeria in Gragnola, a riverside restaurant and the excellent Albergo Da Remo in Monzone.
TAVERONE VALLEY
COMANO lies at the head of the Taverone valley at the height of around 650 metres. It is the gateway to the Appenines which rise steeply behind. The village is now thriving and has several shops, restaurants and a tennis court. It is the last town before you really begin to go up into the Apennines, towards the mountain lakes. It is wild and splendid country.
CRESPIANO is one of the small sleepy villages lying between Comano and Licciana. It has an excellent trattoria, Galletti, which is particularly reasonable and where booking in advance is highly recommended in high season. It offers a warm and friendly welcome to visitors and has a wonderful local atmosphere on Sunday lunchtimes. It also sells its wonderful homemade Fragolino and Mirtillo liqueurs.
PROTA, high on the hill above, also has an excellent restaurant. Ideal for a leisurely Sunday lunch.
TAVERNELLE is a beautiful preserved old 'borgo' with a couple of restaurants and bars.
LICCIANA NARDI is one of the two largest villages in the Taverone valley. Park in the piazza with its old fountain and you will see the graceful Baroque church with a small bridge spanning thestreet, which joins it to the 16th century Medici castle dominating the village square. Not far away, PANICALE is a strange, enclosed village, where you feel eyes watching you as you enter the piazza.
MONTI on the road to Aulla, has an interesting castle on the hill behind, a friendly bar and a good restaurant, La Venelia.
MAGRA VALLEY
BAGNONE is a fascinating mediaeval town which winds down from its castle in a series of twisting lanes and houses interlinked by arches. There are cafes and bars along the piazza. You can sit out in the main piazza and enjoy an excellent pizza at a very modest price at Bar Roma. Pensione La Lina, tucked away in a side street, has a particularly charming dining room with frescos on the walls and ceilings. You can also eat very well at the next village of MALGRATE, near the tower which can be seen for miles around. Gavarone, an atmospheric restaurant and hotel, can be found in the heart of MOCRONE, just down the road.
There are many fascinating hill villages in the area, such as CORVAROLA, CASTIGLIONE al TERZIERE, and VIRGOLETTA, which was a stop on the Via Francigena, the pilgrimage route to Rome. In fact the Archbishop of Canterbury stayed here in the 11th century.
VILLAFRANCA contains a fascinating Ethnological Museum beside the river, which houses exhibtions of the fast fading way of life in the Lunigiana countryside.
PONTREMOLI, originally a Roman town, now the home to one of the largest book fairs in Europe.
In the magnificent castle there is a musem showing the neolithic artifacts found nearby, including the mysterious Luni stone figures.
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