Holiday apartment in Metato: Cave Finds and Hiking Trails

When choosing a holiday apartment in Metato for a culture- and hiking-focused stay, you will encounter a place where landscape, history and trails are unusually closely connected. Metato lies at the foot of a spur of Monte Prana. The Buca del Tasso is located near the hamlet of Metato in the municipality of Camaiore, at an altitude of 415 metres. The place name therefore already provides a specific geographical framework for planning your trip.

Caves and Traces of Early Settlement

The Buca del Tasso is noteworthy not only because of its location near Metato: the fossilised thigh bone of a child approximately nine years old was found there. An anthropological examination classified the find as Homo neanderthalensis. For visitors interested in prehistory, this detail makes the landscape around Metato particularly impressive, without having to claim the existence of an additional attraction.

Another historical trace leads to the Grotta della Fibula, a cave on the left bank of the Rio dei Colli below the village of Metato. A bronze fibula of the “Certosa” type was found inside it. It is attributed to the culture of the Apuan Ligurians and dated to the 4th to 3rd century BC. Above Metato, the Grotta del Tambugione also opens on the western slope of Monte Ciurlaglia, just beyond the dello Schizzolino quarry. Human bones, pottery fragments, stone tools and animal remains were found in its vicinity.

Village Culture and Trails through the Mountain Landscape

Historical evidence can also be found in the village itself. Metato is home to the 18th-century church of Santa Maria Assunta. There is also a wayside shrine built by the Benassi family in the 17th century. Together with the cave finds, these create a cultural focal point that can be easily combined with a leisurely exploration of the mountain landscape.

For longer excursions, the route from Metato to the Rifugio Paolo Barsi follows a paved road through the forest to Località Falcigoli. The C7 trail, by contrast, begins at the car park below the village and descends along a mule track to the turn-off for Castello di Montecastrese. The castle is a fortress on a hill near the small village of Lombrici.

A circular route through Metato, Monte Ciurlaglia, Focetta San Vincenzo and Casa Mutoro begins and ends at the car park in Metato, at an altitude of 393 metres. The CAI 104 trail is classified as difficulty level E; some sections are very steep, but there are no exposed passages. These differing trail characteristics help you distinguish between forest sections, circular tours and more demanding ascents.

At the end of the road lies Piazza Fratelli Ceragioli, with a bus stop and a sufficiently large car park. From a turn-off shortly before Lombrici, it is 3.3 kilometres to Metato. Such fixed reference points can play a role when planning your holiday apartment in Metato, if you want to weigh up routes, starting points and the desired balance between culture and physical activity.

Choosing a Holiday Apartment in Metato Deliberately

In travel planning, Metato is particularly suitable as a place name for a stay in which historical themes and hiking experiences go hand in hand. The distance and altitude information provides an objective guide without anticipating the characteristics of individual accommodations.

For further travel planning, you can also compare Lido Di Camaiore, Pedona, Orbicciano, Santa Lucia, Fibbialla, Capezzano Pianore, Buchignano and Montemagno.

For the higher-level travel overview: Camaiore.