San Pellegrino in Alpe: due santi e un paese divisi a metà

The sanctuary of San Pellegrino in Alpe, on the border between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, is a suggestive and incredibly beautiful place located at the top of the most difficult climb in the entire Apennines.

San Pellegrino in Alpe: the beautiful sanctuary between Tuscany and Emilia

So explain it to me,
in prose or in verse,
because the sky is only one
and the Earth is all in pieces

– Gianni Rodari

THEthe sanctuary of Sa Pilgrim in the Alps It's a magical place. Not only for the natural beauty in which it is immersed, for its regenerating silence and its magnificent culinary traditions. San Pellegrino in Alpe is a suspended place, halfway between the Tuscany and theEmilia RomagnaA place divided between the municipalities of Castiglione di Garfagnana (province of Lucca) and of Ash tree (province of Modena).

The Legend of Saint Pellegrino

According to legend, Saint Pellegrino he was the son of the Roman King of Scotland and his wife Plentula; once his father died he refused the crown and left for a pilgrimage to Holy Land and in Italy. In the Bel Paese the saint converted a brigand named Bianco who remained with him throughout his life as a faithful companion. The two chose to living in a cave halfway between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, as hermits, feeding on roots and helping travellers.

The devil He himself came down to Earth every day to try San Pellegrino who one day, losing patience, slapped him. The demon spun around three times and was then thrown against a mountain, creating the hole in the Mount Forato and the "devil's stones", a place that can still be visited today.
The Devil's Tour is a place reachable via a simple path which starts from San Pellegrino in AlpeEach pilgrim must bring with him a stone as big as the guilt to be atoned for. After going around the little one three times mountain of stones, the stone can be left and the guilt will be forgiven.

Saint Pellegrino died in 97 years old after having carved his life on the trunk of a old beech treeThe body, miraculously intact, was found by a couple from Modena who had been warned in a dream by an angel. Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna they fought over the body for a long timeTo resolve the issue the body was placed on a cart pulled by a Tuscan bull and one Emilian: the body would have remained in the place where the animals had stopped. The animals stopped at Thermae Salonis, on the border between Tuscany and Emilia, where it stands today San Pellegrino in Alpe.

The sanctuary of San Pellegrino in Alpe

The Sanctuary of San Pellegrino It is very ancient; the first references to its existence can be found in some documents from 1100. It wasn't just a place of worship where the relics of Saints Pellegrino and Bianco were kept, was also a hospital for travelers, where you can find a fire, a hot meal, and refreshments.

The place of worship, given its strategic position, became very famous in a short time and was also visited by the emperors Henry IV, Frederick II And Pope Alexander VI.

The temple where the mummies of the Saints Pellegrino And White It was made by Matthew Civitali in 1475 and stands on the border between the two regions: the Saints have the feet in Tuscany and the head in Emilia.

The cult of Saints Bianco and Pellegrino

San Pellegrino and San Bianco are not officially recognized by the Catholic Church, but the first month of August is celebrated a Holy Mass in the SanctuaryThe beech cross that stands outside San Pellegrino in Alpe It is changed during the holy celebration and the old one is divided among the pilgrims as protection.

Even today, the Sanctuary is a point of reference for the spirituality and for the beautiful view which offers: it is the inhabited center non-municipal place at higher altitude of the entire Apennine mountain range, a natural terrace.

The most difficult climb in the Apennines

There climb of San Pellegrino in Alpe, on the Tuscan side, is one of the more difficult climbs of the entire Apennines with a slope of 18% and has been addressed several times Tour of Italy in the 1989, 1995, 2000 editions.

Hey you, yeah you who are reading us, let's break down the fourth wall, come on, that which divides the film from the spectator: become the protagonist, recommend us a special place, or a workshop of an Artisan, an Artist, or a Winemaker who is special to you, tell us about it, and maybe we'll tell it. What do you say??

📍FOR MORE INFORMATION:

👉 Garfagnana: Villages, legends, and natural parks between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines

👉 Garfagnana Restaurants: From "Grandma's Trattoria" to Contemporary Eateries

👉 Mountain refuges in Garfagnana: from sheep farming to tourism

Is Tuscany your passion? It's ours too!

Let's keep in touch