The "Pietro Pellegrini" botanical garden
It is situated in a rocky area of Pian della Fioba, along the main road Massa-Arni and is dedicated to Pietro Pellegrini, a doctor of Massa, author of important studies on the flora of the Apuan territory. The garden was created about 30 years ago, thanks to the interest of some scholars of the universities of Pisa and Florence and thanks to the contribution of some local institution, of the Italian Alpine Club and the Forest Inspectorate. It gets together almost all the characteristic plants of the Apuan Alps, in order to show them to the visitors, pointing out their significance and their scientific importance.
Moreover, the botanical garden backs up the scientific researches connected with three Tuscan universities and gives a technical and logistical support to Italian and foreign scholars, who are interested in the naturalistic aspects of the Apuan Mountains.
The peculiarity of this garden, which has an extent of about three hectares and lies about 900 meters above sea-level, is to be found in the natural environment where the most of the plant species grew spontaneously.
Thanks to the variety of substratum and conformation it is possible to represent in such a small space, the different environmental conditions of the territory.
The route inside the botanical garden lets the visitor admire many endemic and valuable species, among which the Aquilegia bertoloni, the Globularia incanescens, the Moltkia suffruticosa, the Santolina leuchanta, the Campanula medium the Scabiosa holosericea and the Centaurea arachnoidea.
It is possible to visit the botanical garden from May the fifteenth to September the fifteenth, every day from 9.00 to 12.00 and from 15.00 to 18.00. Graduates and last-year undergraduates of the three universities guide the free visits. During the other months of the year it is possible to visit the botanical garden by booking at the Park's and Garden's Office of the town (tel. 0585/4901).
Shoes with rubber sole are required.