Transhumance as a lifestyle, an extension that connects old crafts and modernity, territory and food and wine, also reaching out to experiential tourism which is increasingly becoming a point of reference, an antidote to the frenzy of the passing of time. Carolina, for example, 31 years old, graduated in Agricultural sciences in Pisathe migration season will open tomorrow livestock in Tuscany.
He will leave his refuge by the sea, a Pietrasantato reach the fresh pastures of Pian del Lagoto the Pass of the CrossIn the Municipality of Stazzema, at a thousand meters above sea level. Daniela daughter and grandchildren of shepherds, will move with her entire family during the first week of June: from Cutignano apple treeon the Pistoia mountainswill reach the mountain hut inParadise Amphitheatreat the foot of the Tauffi peakone of the three ridges of the Valley of the Open Book. It is, however, a story out of time, that of Giancarlo Boschetti57 years old, who will leave for his trip in the first week of July, headed to Cento Laghi Park in Valditacca, on the Parma side, covering about thirty kilometers in a couple of days. His treasure consists of more or less 200 sheep and 30 goats: «I was ten years old when I did my first transhumance with my father. For 45 years we walked side by side – he says -. I sleep inside a trailer for almost four months. Our time, up there, is marked by nature. I live for this job: it’s literally my life, I wouldn’t change it for anything.” The transhumant shepherds, who lead their flocks and herds to mountain pastures without the aid of means of transport, sleeping in shelters and working the cheese by hand as in the past, thus tell of a time destined to never pass.
An atypical story
The path of Carolina Leonardi it is something atypical in an ancestral world where being a shepherd is almost always something that is passed down. Shepherds know how to be a dynasty, but there are also those who, like her, have been able to immerse themselves delicately in this world. Carolina taught herself to take care of her flock: she started with 40 animals and today has over 100. Owner of the agricultural and agritourism company “Le Coppelle Latteria Belato Nero”, in the heart of the Apuan Alps park, she produces cheeses intended for direct sale and typical farm catering activities. Her journey begins early in the morning from the stable on the plain, in Pietrasanta, passing through Ruosina and Terrinca, in Alta Versilia, between villages, woods and mule tracks, where, to welcome the arrival of the flock, popular dances and folklore. It is from here that tourists and the curious will be able to gather towards the Pian di Lago mountain pasture for a one-hour walk followed by lunch at the farmhouse.
The sixth generation
Daniela and her husband Valter bring together six generations of shepherds. For Daniela, the upcoming trip will be the 42nd. «It is a celebration in which many families and friends join. The walk lasts between 2 and 3 hours, between fields and pastures. My first transhumance dates back to the age of 6. My parents didn’t know who to leave me with and decided to take me with them. I was at the rear of the flock. It was during one of these journeys that, when I was 18, I met my husband. Our family was born in the mountain pastures.” A question of sensations and sensitivity that lead to connecting farmers, old craftsmen, teaching, territory and food and wine, transforming into an arrow in the arc of tourism made up of unique experiences which lies at the basis of the success of the regional rural offer which, in 2023 , recorded 5 million visitors in the area. Coldiretti Toscana is certain of this. «Livestock companies have understood the tourism potential of this archaic practice – explains Letizia Cesani, president of Coldiretti Toscana -. It is an opportunity to revive the villages, give tourists a real experience, in contact with nature and promote quality products such as cheese, yoghurt and ice cream. Threatening seasonal migration is the presence of predators, discreet companions of shepherds’ journeys since the dawn of time, but never so penalizing the sector. Predations are the main cause of the closure of specific stables in some areas of the region where slaughter is commonplace.”
