Croce Arcana, a pass for snowshoeing

The passage of the Cross Arcane, 1675 metres high on the sea level, is located along the upper ridge of the northern Apennines, which is the border between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. Coming from the little town of Fanano, you’ve to follow the paved road to Ospitale, an ancient medieval village famous for being once a recovery for pilgrims, till the refugee of “Capanno Tassoni”. Here, in 2011 took place the European Championships in Dog Sledding, a spectacular race with dog sledding.

2011 Sledding Dog European Championship

From Capanno Tassoni, one of the most famous refugees of the Apennines, our itinerary starts and, if you need, among other stuff you can rent snowshoes as well as snow rackets.

The beautiful road deep in the woods

Woods and ridge

Last turns before the ridge

Nestled deep in the woods, a very relaxing large street brings us, with a lot of turns, first to the Budale Plain and later to the Passage of Croce Arcana. The passage is on a saddle between Mount Spigolino, south-east, and the ridge north-west, through Cima Tauffi and the Mount Cimone.

Mount Cimone, the highest one in the Northern Apennines, 2165 metres high

The ridge between Emilia Romagna and Tuscany

The area of the pass is characterized by high-altitude moors, conifers crawling and rocky outcrops; the panorama that you can admire it at 360 degrees ranging from the valley of Lima in Tuscany to the highest peaks of the Apennines. When it is clear in the distance you can see the peaks of the Apuan Alps and the Alps.

Croce Arcana with Antennas and Mount Spigolino

On the pass there is a small monument with two guns restored in memory of the soldiers who had fallen in the 2nd World War.

2 guns monument

Just under the pass you can admire the little touristic village of Doganaccia that, after the last world war, thanks to the alpine skiing’s spread, experienced a revival unexpected. At the beginning there was built a shelter that doubled as a hotel-restaurant and arrival station of the cable car from Cutigliano. Opened in 1959 to transport sheep and cattle pasture in the summer, after a short time the cableway was used for the transport of persons, then opened several ski slopes ,alpine and Nordic, served by ski lifts and several rope lifts. Our goal is to reach the arrival of theese lifts, located in proximity of huge antennas, that, in presence of heavy snow, makes it almost a space base, you’ve to see it!