Last updated: October 2026
Say it right first: ARR-ah-mo, with the stress on the first bit. Locals will smile if you get it wrong, but they’ll smile more if you get it right.
Aramo is one of the ten castles of the Svizzera Pesciatina, and it’s the dramatic one. It perches on a rocky peak above the Val di Torbola, small, steep and a bit wild-looking. I love it.
A village built for trouble
You don’t put a village on top of a crag unless you’re expecting company. Aramo was fought over and sacked more than once in the 1400s, when this valley sat on the edge between Lucca’s lands and Florence’s.
Today it’s home to only a few dozen people, and the most dramatic thing that happens is the weather.
What to see
Aramo is tiny, so give it an hour and wander. Covered passages run under the houses. Lanes squeeze between stone walls and open, quite suddenly, onto huge views. Every doorstep seems to have a pot of something on it.
The church of San Frediano sits at the very top of the village. There’s also the little oratory of the Natività di Maria, which people here call the Madonna delle Grazie.
My Ape in Aramo
One of my favourite photos from all my years up here was taken in Aramo. A little blue Ape van, the three-wheeled workhorse of every Tuscan village, parked in the lane as if it owned the place. It probably did.
The night the wind came
Aramo isn’t always sleepy. On the night of 5 March 2015 a terrible wind tore through the valley. The electricity was off for almost four days, and most of us lived by candlelight and the wood stove.
A few weeks later I went up to Aramo to have a look. The little cemetery had taken a battering, and the fallen trees had been logged and left in piles opposite. I wrote about it, and about what winter is really like up here, in my winter in the Tuscan hills post.
Even then, from outside the cemetery, there was the most wonderful view across to Sorana. Aramo and Sorana have been looking at each other across this valley for centuries.
Flowers and cats
Come in spring and you’ll find tulips in an old tin tub, and geraniums spilling off balconies. Come any time and you’ll find a cat on a doorstep, keeping an eye on things.
Eat like a local, not a tourist
Here’s the honest bit. There’s no bar or restaurant in Aramo. Bring water, and do what locals do on a fine day: pack a picnic. Bread, pecorino and a bit of salami from Pescia, eaten on a wall with a view.
For a proper meal, drop down the valley:
- Il Circolino, Sorana. The village circolo, with a terrace over the valley and pizza on Saturday nights. In summer (10 June to 10 September) it opens Monday to Saturday from 2pm and Sunday from 9am. The rest of the year, Friday and Saturday from 2pm and Sunday from 9am.
- Da Carla “il Laghetto”. Down by the river below Sorana, going since 1972. Sorana beans cooked the old way, in a flask, plus grilled meat and pizza. Closed on Thursdays, and lunch only on Wednesdays.
Both were open when I checked in October 2026. More in my Sorana post.
Walking to Aramo
The nicest way to arrive is on foot. CAI path 263A runs from San Quirico over Colle Pinci and the Croce d’Aramo, then drops down into Aramo. Check it’s open on caipescia.it before you go. More in my walking guide.
Getting there and parking
From Pescia, follow the signs for Abetone to Pietrabuona, then turn into the Val di Torbola. Aramo is about 9 km from Pescia. The last stretch is narrow and twisty, so take it slowly. Park outside the village and walk in, and please don’t block anyone’s gate.
Pair it with Medicina and Fibbialla on the same little road, and finish with lunch.
You might also enjoy:
- Le Dieci Castella: a driving route through the Svizzera Pesciatina
- San Quirico
- Chestnut season in Tuscany
Susan
