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The Witches' Oak – Montecarlo (Tuscany) loop from Montecarlo

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

The Witches' Oak – Montecarlo (Tuscany) loop from Montecarlo

Moderate

4.6

(8)

hikers

The Witches' Oak – Montecarlo (Tuscany) loop from Montecarlo

02:44

9.89km

170m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: June 26, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

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115 m

Church of Saint Andrew, Montecarlo

Highlight • Religious Site

It was built in the 14th century, when the Emperor Charles IV founded the castle of Montecarlo. The original building, of which only the façade with large square blocks of sandstone remains with a portal completed by a two-tone bezel, was in poor condition in the mid-17th century. Despite this it was restored only at the end of the eighteenth century and the decorative apparatus was completed in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Some of the most precious works are preserved in the chapel of the Madonna del Rosario, among which the most interesting are the statue of Sant'Antonio Abate by Francesco di Valdambrino (first decade of the fifteenth century) and the table with the Madonna Enthroned with Child by Francesco Anguilla ( 1434) which is the centerpiece of a polyptych whose sides are located in Birmingham, in the US state of Alabama. In the church is also one of Antonio Franchi's masterpieces, the altarpiece with Saints Lucia, Giovanni Battista, Francesco Saverio, Biagio and Gaetano signed and dated 1673

Translated by Google •

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242 m

Rocca del Cerruglio, Montecarlo

Highlight • Castle

The fortress that dominates the medieval town of Montecarlo is also known as Rocca del Cerruglio from the name of the oldest fortifications that stand on the site. The first military complex, with a triangular plan, was probably born between the 12th and 14th centuries, when the fortified village did not yet exist, founded in 1333 at the behest of the powerful and nearby Lucca and of Giovanni and Carlo di Boemia (hence the name of Montecarlo), who came to the aid of the Lucchesi against the Florentines. Until that moment in another area of the hill stood the Castle of Vivinaia, the residence of Countess Matilde di Canossa, destroyed by the Florentines in 1332-33 during the flight due to the arrival of Giovanni and Carlo, whose remains are today under the current cemetery, just outside the village and the city walls. From a definition taken from some documents of the time we learn that the Cerruglio was a soqquadrato Gothic building surrounded by a strong wall of squared stones and equipped with a stronghold of forts.

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1.14 km

Sunset View

Highlight • Viewpoint

3.20 km

600-Year-Old Oak

Highlight • Natural Monument

3.21 km

The Witches' Oak

Highlight • Natural Monument

It is said that the horizontal expansion of the crown is due to the fact that a group of witches used to hold their sabbaths on the branches of the Oak, hence the name Oak of the Witches, and that this caused such an unusual development of the branches.

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4.02 km