Last updated: October 2026
I once called the hills above Pescia home, and every trip up the valley starts the same way. Out of Pescia, follow the signs for Abetone, and a few minutes later there’s Pietrabuona, sitting on its knoll above the river. The first of the ten castles. The front door to the Svizzera Pesciatina.
Most people drive straight past it on the way to the higher villages. Please don’t. Stop, park, and walk up. It’s small, steep and old, and it’s a lovely way to start the Dieci Castella.
Why it’s here
Pietrabuona stands on a little hill at the mouth of the valley, and that spot mattered. Whoever held it held the way up into the Valleriana. In the Middle Ages the Florentines and the Pisans fought bloody battles over it.
You can still feel that as you climb. The lanes are narrow, the walls are thick, and the houses huddle together as if they’re still expecting trouble.
La Rocca and the two churches
At the top of the village are the ruins people call La Rocca. It wasn’t built as a castle at all. It was the old church of San Matteo, already on record in 1260, and later turned into a defensive tower when Florence ran things here. Today it’s mostly broken walls and sky, on a rocky spur where the old ridge track heads off towards Medicina.
The parish church now is Santi Matteo e Colombano, a newer building with the old church tucked inside the castle behind it. It keeps two very old wooden statues of St Matthew and St Michael. If you find the door open, have a look.
Lanes, doors and flower pots
Then just wander. Pietrabuona isn’t big, so you can’t get lost for long. Green doors, stone arches, a lane that suddenly opens onto the valley, a shrine set into a house wall. Somebody’s geraniums on every step.
The paper museum
Down by the main road is the other reason to stop. Paper has been made in this valley since the end of the 1400s, using the clean, fast water of the Pescia, and the river used to be lined with mills.
One of them, the Le Carte mill, is now the Museo della Carta, the paper museum. It belonged to the Magnani family, the great papermaking name round here, and a local association took it on in 2004. It’s the place to learn how paper was made by hand, sheet by sheet, in a real mill. There’s a paper documentation centre lower down the village too.
When I checked in October 2026 the museum was open on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Check before you go. It’s also a good one for a wet day, along with the others in my rainy day guide.
Eat like a local, not a tourist
Pietrabuona is where the valley stops for coffee on the way up, and for pizza on the way home. All three of these were open when I checked in October 2026. Hours change, so check before you go.
- Bar Macchi. An old-school village bar, the kind that hasn’t changed in decades, and a meeting point at the start of the valley. Focaccia and panini made with bread from the bakery next door. Perfect for a cappuccino before you head up.
- Trattoria Pizzeria Da Nerone. On the main road below the castle. Mushrooms, fried or trifolati, pappardelle with wild duck, a proper Tuscan antipasto. Closed on Wednesdays, and in winter on Monday and Tuesday evenings too.
- Vialeuropa 2.0 Pizza Bistrot. Also on the main road, run by Silvia and Raffaele. Good pizza, including gluten-free, a cold beer and Silvia’s homemade desserts. Closed on Mondays.
Do what the locals do. Have your coffee standing at the bar, and don’t expect dinner much before eight.
Walking from Pietrabuona
CAI path 255 starts in the little Piazza della Croce in Pietrabuona and climbs to Medicina, then on to the oratory of Sant’Anna. It’s a good first walk in the valley. Check it’s open before you set off. More in my walking guide.
Getting there and parking
From Pescia, follow the signs for Abetone along the river. Pietrabuona is the first village you come to, only a few minutes up the road. Park in the car park below and walk up into the village, or follow the signs up to the other car park higher up.
No car? The local bus up the valley stops here, and you can even walk it from Pescia. See my Tuscany without a car post.
Next stop
From here the road splits. Go left into the Val di Torbola for Medicina, Fibbialla, Aramo and San Quirico. Or stay on the main road for Sorana, Vellano and Pontito.
You might also enjoy:
- Le Dieci Castella: a driving route through the Svizzera Pesciatina
- Where to stay near Lucca in the Svizzera Pesciatina
- Pescia
Susan
