Mount Sagro (1749m), with its imposing mass, towers over the town of Carrara and dominates its panorama: its profile, majestic and solemn, has made it an object of worship since ancient times, giving it the appellation of sacred mountain, a place other and mysterious, connected to the experience of the divine.
Isolated from the main ridge of the Apuan Alps, the Sagro is clearly visible even from the beach of Marina di Carrara, strongly characterizing the panorama of the valley. Its grandeur must have struck even ancient travelers, who approached the Roman colony of Luna by sea (the ruins of which can be visited a few kilometers from the modern city), but the cult of the sacred mountain seems to date back as far as the Copper Age (2800-2300 BC).
The exceptional discovery in 1905 of nine stele statues aligned in order of height and facing the Sagro led historians to recognize the massif as the center of an enormous alpine sanctuary of the Liguri Apuani, the culmination of a sacred triangle completed by the peaks of Mount Bego and Mount Beigua. The anthropomorphic stelae, found in the Bocciari di Pontevecchio locality near Fivizzano (MS), are now preserved in the Archaeological Museum of the Castle of San Giorgio in La Spezia.
The ascent to the summit of Sagro is not too demanding and remains, for all Carrara people, an experience to be had at least once in a lifetime, although there is no shortage of enthusiasts who tackle the climb on a regular basis, every year or almost every year.
Reaching the locality Foce di Pianza (1272m), with a road route of about twenty-eight kilometers (from the coast), which can be covered in less than an hour, the hiking route proceeds, following CAI 172 trail, along the Faggiola ridge, the administrative boundary between the municipalities of Carrara and Fivizzano. On Monte Faggiola (1455m), where there is a 19th-century boundary stone, trenches dating from the Second World War period, part of the defensive system of the Gothic Line, are still clearly visible; the challenging trail to the summit of Monte Maggiore (1276m) also starts from here.
After passing Foce della Faggiola (1464m), you enter a wide grassy basin from which you finally reach the summit of Monte Sagro (1749m), after a walk of about two and a half hours (less for more experienced hikers).
The panorama is impressive, with splendid views of the Tuscan coast, the Apuan Alps and the Apennines. On clearer days it is possible to see the islands of the Tuscan archipelago, as far as Elba, Corsica and the peaks of the Maritime Alps with Monviso.
The descent can also be made by following CAI Trail 173, going northwest and taking a right at the junction with Trail 172.
The north face of Monte Sagro, on the other hand, is a mountaineering route that must be tackled with adequate preparation: the first ascent route was not opened until 1941, and the route is almost prohibitive in the winter months.
Also highly suggestive is the hike along the so-called Sagro Ring, a route of less elevation gain that allows you to go around the mountain: departure is still from Foce di Pianza and follows CAI trails 173, 38 and 172, returning to the starting point after about seven hours.
Also in the immediate vicinity is the CAI Carrara Refuge (1320m), in Campocecina (reached by trail 173 from Foce di Pianza or from Piazzale del Belvedere), an excellent starting point for the ascent to Sagro or for other hikes or walks in the Apuan Alps.