Lost at the boarder between Emilia Romagna and Toscana
🗺️ Overview
Starting point: Molino del Pallone train station
Highest point: Posola / Canal di Sasso di Sopra (approx. 1,000 m)
Total elevation gain: Approx. 500 m
Total distance: 6.5 km
Total time: Under 2 hours
Technical difficulty: Easy (E)
This is an easy, pleasant hike in a valley on the border between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. It feels quite remote, even though the train passes through it. In fact, the hike starts at Molino del Pallone train station, where there is also a car park.
You go left, towards Bologna, where a downhill road allows you to pass underneath the railway. On the other side, there is a bridge to cross the River Reno and enter Tuscany. Just after that, the path becomes a mountain trail branching off to the right into the woods.
Most of the uphill section is quite steep and goes through chestnut woods. We went in early October, during chestnut season, when you can collect the nuts that have fallen from the trees. Bring good shoes, though, because the spiky shells are really nasty!
The path zigzags through the woods until it reaches a house that looks semi-abandoned. The place has a magical, otherworldly atmosphere. After that, the path flattens out and becomes wider, continuing uphill more gently until you arrive at Posola.
The small village has a little shop where you can grab something to eat. Otherwise, you can continue along the road through the village. There are some large chestnut trees here, and we found our best nuts around them.
After the village, you continue along a wider gravel road that a few brave cars might venture onto (but very few!). Eventually, you reach the village of Canal di Sasso di Sopra. Cross it and continue along a very steep road towards Canal di Sasso di Sotto.
Here you have a choice. You can continue to Lagacci, but the way back is long and follows the road. If you have time, you could also go all the way to Pracchia and return by train. However, this would add another two hours, and I think there is only one train per hour, so you would need to time it well.
We decided instead to take the right-hand fork, where a steep path leads down to a river crossing. Before reaching it, you will have to cross the railway tracks at an unprotected crossing (yes, these still exist!), so be careful. Shortly afterwards, you will find an abandoned football field and, beyond it, a bridge to cross the river.
On the other side, you are back on the road, much closer to Molino del Pallone. A 10-minute walk will bring you back to the car.
Overall, this is a roughly 500 m elevation-gain hike that you can comfortably complete in under two hours. A nice little adventure, especially in chestnut season!
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