The Monterufoli Villa and the Linari valley

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This route has a very steep and slippery part before the Linari stream, although walking along it is not difficult. The route is not recommended after heavy rain.

The starting point of the route can be reached from the villages of Libbiano, Micciano and Serrazzano, along the dirt road that leads to the Monterufoli Reserve.

This route is part of the “7 Sentieri Natura delle Riserve Naturali” (7 Nature Trails of the Nature Reserves) and it also features a guidebook with marked and numbered waypoints along the way, and indeed here Nature shares the stage with signs of Man’s presence and both interact along the entire route.

The first part of the route will lead you to discover the legendary Villa di Monterufoli, a 17th-century structure built on an ancient medieval castle, known as the “villa of the hundred rooms”, once the centre of an extensive noble estate and now a residential environmental education centre.

The agricultural landscape around the villa has now been transformed, retaining only a few abandoned farms and small areas of fields and pastures that have been converted into pine woods or typical Mediterranean evergreen vegetation. The second part of the route becomes more demanding and crosses the steep northern slopes of Corno al Bufalo, which offer broad, all-encompassing views and an encounter with the rare botanical treasures of the garrigues and scrubland of the Reserve.

The path descends further and the vegetation becomes taller and taller as far up until the Linari stream, where, amidst the luxuriant vegetation of the gorge, we find fascinating evidence of 19th-century mining research: we note a gallery, a mine shaft and other service buildings of what was known as the Caggio Mine.

An old, but easy “path” used by woodcutters and charcoal burners leads up the opposite slope to return to the villa area.

Hiking difficulty scale

T - Tourist

Itineraries on small roads, mule tracks or easy paths, with clearly evident routes that do not pose uncertainties or problems of orientation. They generally take place below 2000 m and usually constitute access to mountain pastures or refuges. They require some knowledge of the mountain environment and physical preparation for walking.

E - Hiking

Routes that almost always turn on paths, or on traces of passage in various terrain (pastures, debris, stony ground), usually with signs. They require a certain sense of orientation, as well as a certain experience and knowledge of the mountainous territory, walking training, as well as appropriate footwear and equipment. Normally the difference in altitude is between 500 and 1000m.

EE - Expert hikers

Routes not always marked and which require a good ability to move on various mountain terrains. They can be paths or even faint traces that wind over rough or steep terrain, with steep and slippery slopes, scree and short snowfields that can be overcome without the use of climbing equipment. They need a good mountain experience, firm footing and good physical preparation. It is also necessary to have adequate equipment and equipment, as well as a good sense of direction. Normally the difference in height is greater than 1000m.

EEA - Expert hikers with mountaineering equipment

Routes that require the use of via ferrata equipment (lanyards, harness, heat sink, helmet, etc.). They can be equipped paths or real via ferratas. It is necessary to know how to use the technical equipment safely and have a certain habit of exposure and mountaineering terrain.

MTB difficulty scale

TC - Tourist

Route on dirt roads with a compact and smooth surface, suitable for vehicles.

BC - For cyclists with good technical skills

Route on very bumpy dirt roads or on mule tracks and paths with a rather bumpy but fairly smooth surface or compact but irregular, with some natural obstacles (eg rock steps or roots).

OC - For cyclists with excellent technical skills

As above but on very bumpy and / or very irregular paths, with significant presence of obstacles.

EC - Maximum level for the cycle excursionist

Path on very irregular paths, characterized by steps and obstacles in continuous succession, which require trial-type techniques.