On the hottest days of the year or for mountain lovers or for families looking for special activities to do with their children, we recommend a trip to the mountains.

After the suspension bridge, a really exciting place, you reach Cutigliano, a beautiful mountain town that is very pleasant to visit.

A cable car also departs from Cutigliano that in winter takes you to the ski fields, while in summer the same fields are transformed into pleasant places for walks and playful activities.

The upstream arrival station is called Doganaccia, a place located on the remains of an ancient customs house between the Duchy of Modena and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany at 1547-1650 meters above sea level.

The air at the Doganaccia is always fresher than the plain and from here you can organize various activities including a walk to Lake Scaffaiolo, or, after a 15-minute walk, reach the exciting Adventure Park.

At the top station, there are also the La Bicocca Restaurant open for lunch with table service and La Grande Baita Pizzeria.

The cable car runs every day from June 18 to September 10 2022 8 am to 12.50 pm and from 2 pm to 5.30 pm.

The ticket price for adults is 12 Euros per person, children from 6 to 12 years 8 Euros.

For further information

0039 0573 629391 

Dogs on a leash are allowed to go on the cable car.

Two small cable cars which appear to have stepped out of a Western link Montecatini Terme with Montecatini Alto. Ten minutes to cover one kilometre with a rise of 200 metres and an average ascent at 20% arriving at almost 40% on the final tract. Built in 1898, Montecatini’s Funicular is the oldest in Europe and has been driven on steam since 1921. Damaged during World War II it was returned to service in 1949. From 1977 to 1982 the plant has been brought up to norm through enormous renovation works which have not altered the fascination of the historical little red cable cars which never fail to “salute” halfway along the track. Each cable car can hold 40 people and comprises of one cabin only divided into three sections, with wooden benches and two tiny external balconies – the most requested -, from which one can admire the unique panorama.

Valley Station - Viale Diaz - Montecatini Terme (PT)

Mountain Station - Via Vittorio Veneto - Montecatini Alto (PT)

Telephone +39 0572 766862

Dogs on a leash are allowed to go on the funicular

More Info https://funicolaremontecatini.com/

ZOO DI PISTOIA 

Via Pieve a Celle 160/a

Pistoia Tel. +39 0573 911219 

The Zoo is located in the hills near the city of Pistoia at approx 8 km far away from the Agriturismo I Pitti and 5 km from the Casa Rowe B&B.

It covers an area of 75.000 sq mt and houses about 400 animals of 100 different species, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. It is actually focusing its animal collection on endangered species and it has been already successful in breeding rare and threatened species such as Fennec foxes, Caimans and Ring-tailed lemurs.

The Zoo is strongly engaged to assure animal welfare, to promote conservation, education and to support conservation of threatened species.

For many people this is a unique opportunity to see some species of animals live.

Reduced entrance tickets for guests from the Agriturismo I Pitti and the Casa Rowe B&B. Ask us for details.

Dogs on a leash are allowed to enter the zoo

Further info on www.zoodipistoia.it

This is a beach quite different from the other ones, with beautiful sand dunes.

It is located in the middle of a Natural Park, it belongs to the Municipality of Vecchiano and has organized portions of beach where you can rent sun umbrellas and laying chairs, as well as free beache sections. There are also some bars on the beach where you can have a snack, or even have a complete meal for lunch or dinner.

These modern and comfortable facilities are completely integrated with the natural  environment; the beaches of fine sand form a beautiful ecosystem of dunes and Mediterranean vegetation with its fragrances and bright colors that make Marina di Vecchiano the ideal destination for those who want to spend one day at the seaside.

This beach is not mentioned in the maps and is mostly known by local people.

When you arrive at the sea by car, turn right and follow the road to the end. It is possible to park along this road, where there are paid parking spaces. However, my advice is to follow the road to the end, until you reach the Duna Donda bath. Park in the guarded car park of this bath, it is safer, and from there walk to the beach. You will see that on the beach there are both organized baths where you can rent umbrellas and deck chairs, and large portions of free beach.

At the Duna Donda bath, if you want, you can go for lunch, even if you have settled on the free beach. You eat well, especially fish, at an affordable price.

Beyond the last bath, the Duna Donda, and beyond the beach to the left of the first bath, at the arrival roundabout, it is possible to access the beach with dogs.

The Beach of Marina di Vecchiano is approx. 55 km from the Agriturismo I Pitti and 60 km from the Casa Rowe B&B.

Behind Lucca, there is the Garfagnana, an area dotted with numerous fortresses used to keep the whole area under control in the past.

The Garfagnana, a name that literally means Great Forest, is a territory that remained closed in itself and still today we see the valley as it appeared to its first visitors, leaving us amazed by the luxuriant extension of its woods. Among the woods of beech and chestnut trees, a very rich  fauna is hidden: foxes, wild boars, deer and birds of prey of various races.

One of the most representative monuments is the Verrucole Fortress, which has been restored and can be visited since 2013 thanks to the Fortezza Verrucole Archeopark Project, which provides for the reconstruction of life inside the Fortress in the form of a living museum, as it was when it was inhabited in the past. The rooms have been rearranged as they could have been at the end of the 13th century and thanks to the presence of guide-actors, the history and life of the Fortress can be discovered. Visitors are involved in discovering the daily life of the past through a unique and personal experience, making the environments credible and alive.

At the foot of the fortress there is a large dirt parking lot. From here continue on foot through a fairly steep climb.

Dogs are welcome if accompanied on a leash.

Opening time

June

from Friday to Sunday - from 10.30am to 6.30pm

Guided tour starts on Friday and Saturday at 11am 2.30pm 4pm

Guided tour starts on sunday at 11am 12am 2.30pm 4pm 5pm

July

from Wednesday to Sunday - from 10am to 6.30pm

Guided tour starts from Wednesday to Friday at 11am 12am 4pm 5pm

Guided tour starts on Saturday and Sunday at 11am 12am 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm

August

from Tuesday to Sunday - from 10am to 6.30pm

Guided tour starts from Tuesday to Friday at 11am 12am 4pm 5pm

Guided tour starts on Saturday and Sunday at 11am 12am 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm

September

01 Sept - 11 September from Thursday to Sunday - from 10.30am to 6.30pm

12 Sept - 30 September from Friday to Sunday - from 10.30am to 6.30pm

Guided tour starts on Friday and Saturday at 11am 2.30pm 4pm

Guided tour starts on Sunday at 11am 12am 2.30pm 4pm 5pm

October ('till 23 of October) 

from Friday to Sunday - from 10.30am to 6.30pm

Guided tour starts on Friday and Saturday at 11am 2.30pm 4pm

Guided tour starts on Sunday at 11am 12am 2.30pm 4pm

TICKETS

Entrance with guided tour euro 7,00

Young people from 6 to 18 years old euro 5,00

Baby Entrance from 0 to 5 years old is free

RATES

Full € 5.00

Child 6/13 € 3.00

☞

https://www.fortezzaverrucolearcheopark.it/en

From the Agriturismo I Pitti you can make a day trip to Cinque Terre. In just over an hour drive you reach La Spezia, Lerici or Portovenere where in summer the boats depart regularly several times a day. The Cinque Terre can also be reached by train, although from the boat you can enjoy a unique view of the sea and have a truly breathtaking view of the coast. 

Cinque Terre is a territory in which sea and land are founded forming a unique and evocative area. 18 kilometres of rocky coastline abounding with abundant bays, beaches and deep sea, surrounded by mountains running parrellel to the coast. Terracings cultivated with vineyards  and olives, kept under control by old dry stone walls. A naturalistic heritage of great variety. Paths and mule tracks look onto breathtaking views. Five villages, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso face onto the sea. An environment in which centuries old work of generations has transformed an inaccessable territory into a landscape of extraordinary beauty. A Protected Marine Area and a National Park which protect the absolute uniqueness. In synthesy the “Cinque Terre” has been declared a World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since 1997.

Dogs can be brought, they do not pay the ticket but they must be kept on a leash and with a muzzle

By Boat 

During  spring and summer there are daily connections by sea from La Spezia, Lerici and Porto Venere, Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The Cinque Terre line has as terminus Monterosso.

www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it

By Train 

Train departure quite often from La Spezia, especially during the summer season and local trains stop at all railway stations of the Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare.  

www.trenitalia.com 

Inaugurated in 1956, the Pinocchio Park is not an ordinary theme park, but rather a precious masterpiece created by artists of great character working together.

The literary itinerary, marked out by mosaics, buildings and sculptures set amidst the greenery, emerges from an inspired combination of art and nature. The path is winding, and the dense vegetation means that every stage on the route comes as an unexpected surprise, with plants and trees contributing to create the atmosphere and the episodes of the Adventures of Pinocchio.  

There are works designed by Emilio Greco, Venturino Venturi, Giovanni Michelucci and Pietro Consagra. Tell your kids not to expect a theme park!

The Park is the site of constantly renewed cultural activities that are always mindful of its roots: exhibitions of art and illustrations inspired by children’s literature and the Story of Pinocchio, puppet-making workshops, puppet and marionette shows and minstrels enliven the visit to the Park, depending on the season.

The park has been enriched by an adventure trail particularly suitable for children, who can try various tests of courage, including the cableway that crosses the Pescia river.

The park is equipped with tables and chairs where you can eat a packed lunch. It is therefore possible to spend an entire day in a shady and cool place in the name of Pinocchio.

Inside the Park there is also a restaurant.

The Pinocchio Park is about 23 km from the Agriturismo I Pitti and 28 km from Casa Rowe B&B and can be reached by car.

Guests of Agriturismo I Pitti and Casa Rowe B&B can take advantage of a reduced admission ticket to be requested in advance.

THE TICKET INCLUDES:

entrance to the Pinocchio Park + Interactive Museum and all the attractions (merry-go-rounds, laboratory, Fire Eater puppets, Adventure paths from 5 years old up to and a half meters high) + Historical Garzoni Garden + Tropical Greenhouse - Insect educational workshop and Butterfly House  (butterflies are visible from March to November)

For further information: www.pinocchio.it

THE TICKET INCLUDES:

entrance to the Pinocchio Park + Interactive Museum and all the attractions (carousels, laboratory, the Puppets of Mangiafoco, Adventure trails from 5 years old up to a height of one and a half meters) + Historic Garzoni Garden + Tropical greenhouse - Insect educational workshop and House delle Farfalle (butterflies are visible from March to November)

For further information: www.pinocchio.it

To park the car there is a free area in Via Pasquinelli, immediately after the Camper Area on the left side after passing the Giant Pinocchio Statue (16m high) a 450m walk from Collodi Pinocchio Park.

For Saturdays and Sundays, public holidays, we recommend an online ticket, which works as a skip-the-line ticket, otherwise you can buy a ticket on site.

Ask us for the voucher to buy the reduced entrance ticket.

- You can consult the times and openings of our facilities

at the link https://www.pinocchio.it

- here you can consult the prices and ticket categories

https://www.pinocchio.it

- booking is not mandatory, but you can book and prepay

the visit by purchasing the online skip-the-line ticket, without

no price increase compared to the direct ticket office, at the link:

https://www.pinocchio.it

Otherwise it is possible to go directly to the cashier and pay on the spot.

With prams and pushchairs it is possible to access almost everywhere in the Pinocchio Park (there are the special ramps and marked facilitated route on the maps), the Garzoni Garden on the other hand it is possible to access only the parterre and the butterfly house (open from April 1 to November, otherwise open as a botanical greenhouse).

- dogs are allowed in, it is necessary to have a poop bag with you and keep them on a leash

- inside the Park there is the Gambero Rosso Restaurant - 3294745890

info@osteriadelgamberorosso.it as well as the kiosk bar and the picnic area while in the Garden of Villa Garzoni there is the Villa Garzoni Restaurant info@ristorantevillagarzoni.it, 0572 428545

- the visit includes Pinocchio monumental park with at least two puppet shows a day of 15-20 minutes each), activities for children (workshop, rides (from 3 years old), adventure trail from 5 years to 14) , Garzoni Historic Garden, the butterfly house (open only as a botanical greenhouse from 01 November to 31 March, the butterflies will return from 01 April) and the Internal Courtyards of Villa Garzoni where you can see the Chiesetta dei Garzoni and the Palazzina d'Estate.

- for safety reasons, children from the age of 3 can ride on the rides and children from the age of 5 to 14, who are between 100 and 150 cm tall, can access the adventure trail

Further information on the official website www.pinocchio.it

Giacomo Puccini first came to Torre del Lago in June 1891. For several years he rented various houses in the village, but when his means permitted - after the success of Manon Lescaut (1893) and La Bohème ( 1896) — he bought the present dwelling (fomerly an old watch-tower on the Archducal estate, which he set about having completely restored). At around the same time Puccini obtained permission from the Marquis Carlo Ginori, owner of Lake Massaciuccoli, to fill in that part of the lake in front of the villa so that a garden could be established, and a road constructed beyond the front fence. The elegant and sober house was equipped with all the latest fittings, from radiator heaters to the telephone. Puccini loved living at Torre del Lago, where he was able to go hunting and also enjoy the peace and quiet so essential for his work. It was at Torre del Lago that the composer wrote the majority of his operas: Manon Lescaut, La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, la Fanciulla del West, La Rondine and Il Trittico.

The Maestro did most of his composing at night. Whenever he could, he went hunting; this pastime was particularly well catered for given the ideal location of the house. Puccini kept his boats moored in front of the railings; the lake and the marshes were the undisputed dominion of the composer and his hunting companions.

The Puccinis lived the simple life of an average middle-class family; the house was visited by people of all social conditions.

The fishermen and hunters of Torre del Lago were constant companions of the Maestro, as were those painters who lived in the vicinity. The Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli also numbered amongst Puccini‘s friends.

In 1921 Puccini left Torre del Lago for Viareggio, and there moved into a villa which he had had specially built for him; the composer continued to live in Viareggio until 1924, the year of his death.

When Puccini died, his only son Antonio had a chapel constructed inside the villa at Torre del Lago. On 29 November 1926 Puccini‘s remains were brought to the chapel and interred there.

Subsequently Elvira, Antonio and Rita Puccini were also laid to rest in the Torre del Lago chapel.

In the Villa Museum Puccini one can visit the family living room and Puccini‘s study with the composer's Förster piano and, nearby, the special work table upon which his spectacles and other personal effects are still lo be seen. A glass cabinet contains Puccini‘s death mask, which was prepared in Brussels immediately following the death of the composer. Furthermore one can admire various manuscripts - among them some of the last notes written by Puccini in Brussels following his operation -, reproductions of some of his letters, facsimile of pages taken from early musical scores in addition to photographs of the earliest interpreters of Puccini’s operas and historic dignitaries with whom Puccini was acquainted.

The chapel created from an existing small family room, houses the tomb of Giacomo Puccini and those of members of his immediate family.

Recently after an accurate renovation, also the Bedroom of Giacomo and Elvira Puccini returned accessible to the public with the original look from 1905, when the Maestro himself renewed furnishings inspired by the green, the lake and the lush vegetation surrounding the residence. The big brass bed, the closet, the dresser, the desk and the whole furniture have traveled back in time, to the point that by crossing the threshold of the room just restored, any visitor has the feeling of traveling back to the early ’900 when the composer was at the height of his activity while the notes of his famous Operas resounded in the house. 

In Puccini’s time the lake came up to the fence, and the present-day piazza did not exist. The garden today still maintains the appearance it originally had when the Maestro was alive.

At that time one could listen to the singing of numerous birds housed in aviaries.

Timetable

Admission every 40 minutes. Last admission 40 minutes before closing time.

November: OPEN ONLY on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. (last admission 12:00) – from 2:00 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. (last admission 4:40 p.m.).

December 1st to January 31st: from 10:00 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. (last admission 12:00) – from 2:00 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. (last admission 4:40 p.m.).

February 1st to March 31st: from 10:00 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. (last admission 12:00) – from 2:30 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. (last admission 5:10 p.m.).

April 1st to October 31st: from 10:00 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. (last admission 12:00) – from 3:00 p.m. to 6:20 p.m. (last admission 5:50 p.m.).

On the days of the Puccini Festival (July and August): from 10:00 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. (last admission 12:00) – from 4:00 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. (last admission 8:00).

Closed

Monday morning (excluding period from June 1st to September 30th), December 25 (Christmas)

 “Puccini Concealed” Tour

Ground floor and first floor.

Monday : 10:00 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. (last admission 12:00) – and

Thursday & Sunday: 2.00 p.m. to 4.40 p.m. (last admission 4:00 p.m.).

Prices

– Full admission: € 7.00 – Adults and Teenagers over 13

– Reduced admission: € 3.00 – Children from 6 to 13 yrs old

– Groups (minimum 15 people): € 6.00, only by prior reservation

– Free: Children under 6 yrs old

Puccini Concealed: Visit to the ground floor & first floor

– Full admission: € 7.00 – Adults and Teen-agers over 13

– Reduced admission: € 3.00 – Children from 6 up to 13 yrs old

Available Services

– Audio guides in Italian, English, German, and French

– Multilingual brochure

Dogs allowed inside the museum carried in the arms of the owners and/or tied up in the museum’s garden