Abetone dates back to the second half of the eighteenth century and became an independent commune in 1936. Situated in the Abetone Valley on the border between Tuscany and Emilia in the magnificent State forest, it is the most famous summer and winter holiday resort in the whole Apennine range. Abetone means “big fir tree” and it is so-called because of an enormous fir which was eventually chopped down in the nineteenth century to make way for the road which links Emilia and Tuscany. Two stone pyramids in the town commemorate the fact that the road was built by Francesco III Duke of Modena and Leopold I of Lorraine. The skiing complex is divided into the centres of Abetone, Val di Luce, Sestaione, Lima and Scoltenna, which are all linked by a single ski pass. Ski-lifts go up to 1892 m and can carry a total of 18,000 people per hour. The numerous runs are of varying difficulty and have a total distance of 50 km. We mention in particular the “Riva”, the “Stucchi”, the “Selletta” and the three branches of the “Zeno” which was designed by the Olympic skiing champion Zeno Colò. There are two routes for cross-country skiers, the “Gino Seghi” and the “Cristallo”, with a total length of 13 km. There is good skiing on a number of attractive routes for Alpine skiers as well, including traversing the Libro Aperto, the Tre Potenze climb and the Cimone, which is the highest mountain in the Apennines (2165 m) and the route that most skiers want to be able to do.

Après-ski facilities offer a wide range of choices including an indoor swimming pool, ice rink, tennis courts, a gym, saunas, games arcades, cinemas, bars, pizzerias, pubs, restaurants and discos.


Getting there
By train: Pracchia Station 25 km.
By bus: from Modena, Bologna, Pistoia, Florence, Lucca, Pisa and Livorno.
By car: the A11, exit at Pistoia, then the SS 12 for Abetone and the Brenner.

Information
APT, tel. 0573 630145

Ski-lifts
3 cableways, 9 chair-lifts and 15 tows