Filettole: historic village center, hill paths and protected nature

Filettole lies on the right bank of the Serchio, opposite Ripafratta. The village combines a historic center with paths through the hills and a landscape where protected wetlands, waterways and traditional land uses meet.

Historic village center and landmarks around San Maurizio

Filettole preserves a historic village center whose layout and building types are more similar to those found in the area around Lucca. Notable landmarks include the Castellaccio, built in the Middle Ages above an earlier convent for women dedicated to Santa Viviana. The Cippo di Laiano is a memorial in Filettole on the Via di Filettole. The Church of San Maurizio also dates back a long way: it is documented as early as before the year 1000 among the properties of Lucca Cathedral. Inside is a fresco cycle by Luigi Ademollo. Its historical context and surviving individual landmarks give the village center its own cultural character, without reducing Filettole to a single building.

Easy trails with different profiles

The trails through the hills of Filettole, Vecchiano and Avane can be explored by bicycle or on foot. The route “Da Filettole alle tre vallate lucchesi” is easy, takes 3 hours and begins in the center of Filettole on the Via di Castello. The route “Da Filettole alla Torre segata” is also easy, takes 2 hours and starts from the same point. Its final section is uneven – a specific difference from the route’s otherwise easy rating. Torre Segata is the ruin of the medieval Torre dell’Aquila. Only half of its wall structure remains. Another option is the route “Da Filettole agli Ulivi di Padule”, which begins in the center of Filettole and climbs uphill along the Via del Castello. It passes through a natural landscape crossed by the Rio del Bucine valley.

Protected landscape and traditional plants

Il Padule is a wetland covering approximately 33 hectares within the area of the common land rights of the districts of Vecchiano, Avane, Nodica and Filettole. The entire area is protected by the Migliarino–San Rossore–Massaciuccoli Regional Park. In spring, orchids, rockroses and other naturally occurring herbaceous plants bloom at Sassi Grossi. Falasco (Cladium mariscus) is also part of the local landscape history. In the area covered by the common land rights of the districts of Vecchiano, Avane, Nodica and Filettole, the plant was traditionally used to weave seats, bottles and demijohns. Nearby Marina di Vecchiano lies within the Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli Regional Park. The “Strada dell’Olio del Monte Pisano”, which leads as far as Buti, also begins in the Vecchiano area. For further orientation, you can also include Avane and Migliarino.

For the overarching travel overview: Vecchiano.