The Aronte Trail

Around Carrara unfolds a kind of enchanted ring: a network of trails and white gravel roads, in many cases little known and at times in need of restoration, which slowly connect, at a walker’s pace, all the hamlets and villages that surround the city. They are like petals arranged around the ancient heart of the historic centre, each one part of a shared design.

This project aims to be a tool for promoting slow and environmentally respectful tourism, enhancing walking as a practice capable of restoring an authentic relationship with nature. Travelling these routes on foot means gaining access to a widespread cultural and natural heritage across the territory, enjoying outdoor experiences and, taking advantage of the need for social distancing, rediscovering places that have so far remained off the beaten path. It is an opportunity to inhabit the territory with greater awareness, whether one has always known it or arrives as a visitor or as an enthusiast of trekking and walking routes.

The itinerary is divided into five stages, but the structure remains flexible and adaptable to everyone’s preferences and possibilities. To best prepare before setting off, we recommend consulting the “walker’s handbook”, together with the detailed description of each individual stage and the related interactive maps.

The name of the walk recalls Aruns, the Etruscan haruspex of mythological tradition, also mentioned by Dante in the Divine Comedy. According to the story, the soothsayer is said to have lived in a cave among the white marbles above Carrara, from which he could contemplate together the sea and the starry sky. Many legends are linked to his figure: to give an identity to this route, the tale that ties him to a mermaid, with whom the haruspex is said to have fallen hopelessly in love, was chosen in particular. This creature, immortalised in a famous fountain along Via Carriona in Carrara, seems to unite with her tail two elements that define the Apuan landscape: the sea and the mountains.

The initiative is the result of the synergy between different organisations, united by the belief that the development and care of the territory must start from the recovery of historical memory and local traditions. The partners involved are: Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Carrara, Comune di Carrara, CAI Carrara section, Panathlon Carrara e Massa, Anffas Massa Carrara and Camera di Commercio di Massa Carrara.