Nature Route Source of the Secchia

The route begins at the Cerreto Pass, on the SS 63, in the parking lot of the restaurant 12 km from the administrative capital.

Parco Nazinale dell'Appennino Tosco-emilano

Apennines

Itinerary in Detail:
It's an easy (excursion) route which ventures onto one of the most beautiful scenic areas of the northern Apennines. Near the local snack area you encounter ridge route 00 which, turning west enters a beechwood and heads towards the prominence of the Ospedalaccio. After about 20 minutes of walking you reach the same-name pass, whose name derives from the existence of an ancient hospice of the middle ages constructed to assist travelers and pilgrims who crossed the Apennine Pass. This is an area of extreme scenic relevance, it offers a view of the Secchia river, locked between the massif of Alpe di Succiso - Mt Casarola (on the left) and Mt La Nuda and Maccagnino (on the right). The route continues along a forest road, on which you encounter a Napoleanic cippus, or boundary stone, continuing you enter a beechwood where you then slightly descend and reach the flatlands of the springs from where the Secchia river originates. The place is characterized by a wide prairie, bordered by a "rocky amphitheater" that is quite charming. The glacial cirque of the Secchia springs (station n 10) is among the most beautiful of the apennines: a huge niche having a semi-circular shape, with steep walls, carved on the rocky side of Mt Alto (1904 m) exposed north-easterly. From this accumulation zone the ice would insinuate itself in the upper Secchia Valley, reaching below all the way to the area called Gabellina.
(G. Cervi, P.G. Oliveti 1997)