Via Francigena is the ancient pilgrimage road connecting during the Middle Ages Canterbury with Rome and gathering thousands of pilgrims along the way. Born at the times of the Lombard rule in the 6th century, the road of the pilgrims began to be used also by merchants and travelers and became a very important way of communication between Northern and Southern Europe, as well as a fertile land for cultural exchanges. The great presence of travelers led to the development of human activities and to changes in the territory and landscape that have shaped the territory and are still evident today. Towns, settlements, and pilgrim hospices were built along the way; castles, towers, and bastions were created to control the coming and going; cathedrals, oratories, sanctuaries, and monasteries were built to decorate the main towns along the itinerary.
Via Francigena crosses the Park territory: its presence is witnessed by Filattiera fortified town, situated along the itinerary, and Terrarossa Castle, in the Municipality of Licciana Nardi, built by Malaspina in the 16th century to control the coming and going of the travelers.
Today, several pilgrims coming from all over Europe still walk along Via Francigena and, for its importance, the Council of Europe declared it "European Cultural Route" in 1994.
www.viafrancigena.eu
The Salt Route
The Salt Route includes the itineraries, trails, and mule tracks crossing Appennino Tosco-Emiliano and fostering the salt trade in the past. There were more routes, since Piedmont, Lombardy, and Emilia-Romagna used several itineraries connecting the Po Plain with the ports of the Ligurian Sea and Tyrrheanian Sea: they changed every year according to various needs, like for instance snow and frost.
The heart of the Park was the crossroads of the routes reaching Garfagnana and Lunigiana across Lagastrello Pass, Ospedalaccio Pass, or Pradarena Pass.
Today, the Salt Routes have lost their commercial value; however, they still remain and are still used to carry out tours and trekking activities, since they develop in untouched environments of great naturalistic value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Road
