History
The Radici pass, between the Serchio and Secchia valleys, has been important and traveled since ancient times, becoming a major transit route during the Middle Ages for merchants, pilgrims, and armies. Close to the pass, a pilgrims' hospice and a church linked to the hermits Pellegrino and Bianco were established. Pellegrino, traditionally believed to be the son of a Scottish king, is said to have lived for years in prayer in the surrounding wild mountains. His presence, tied to popular devotion, is linked with numerous stories and legends. However, Pellegrino and Bianco have never been officially canonized.
The pass was long contested among the people of Lucca, Modena, and Reggio Emilia, but in the late Middle Ages, Lucca prevailed, and the hospice and church fell definitively within the territory of the Lucca diocese (see Archdiocese of Lucca) and the Republic of Lucca. After 1430, the Este Dukes of Modena and Ferrara, taking advantage of the war between Lucca and Florence, entered the Serchio valley with their troops and, through shrewd diplomacy, gained the allegiance of many settlements in the Garfagnana. In 1433, the emperor granted the hospital and church of San Pellegrino to the Este family of Modena, with further imperial confirmations in 1509, 1526, and 1535.
Lucca, however, maintained its independence thanks to alliances with Genoa and Milan and its victory at the Battle of the Serchio. The Este retained control of much of the upper Serchio valley, but Lucca kept several strategically and economically significant vicariates. One of them was Castiglione di Garfagnana, centered on its heavily fortified capital and including villages, mountain passes, and the locality of San Pellegrino in Alpe. The Duke of Modena sought to counter Lucca's control of the main route from Lombardy to the Serchio and managed to station troops near the stables opposite the church. The houses today forming the exclave of Frassinoro (mostly on the northeast side of the village square) correspond to those soldiers' barracks and stables. Even the important pilgrimage church of the saints was divided between the two states, although ecclesiastically it continued to fall under the Archbishop of Lucca.
A major moment in San Pellegrino's history came with the construction of the Via Vandelli [4] between 1740 and 1750. The Duke of Modena refused to route the road near the walls of Castiglione and asked Lucca to allow it to cross the Alpe di San Pellegrino, from which the road would descend—partly in Luccan territory—toward Pieve Fosciana. Lucca recognized that this route might harm Castiglione’s trade but also realized the advantages of opening a route between the Ligurian Sea and the Po Valley. After long negotiations, Lucca authorized the construction through the village of Chiozza (Luccan) and the woods of Roncagliana (administered by Lucca but subject to timber rights by Este subjects).
Despite its historical importance, the Via Vandelli [4] never supplanted the Castiglione route due to its steep gradients, which made maintenance particularly difficult on the Apuan side. Within a few years, that section became unusable by carts and reverted to a broad mule track. In the 19th century, with the construction of the Giardini Ximenes road (Abetone route), the Foce a Giovo, and the Radici road, San Pellegrino lost importance as a pass but remained a major summer pilgrimage destination for people from the Serchio valley and Modena area.
A well-known legend associated with San Pellegrino is the "Devil’s Leap" (Giro del Diavolo). According to the tale, Saint Pellegrino of the Alps, tempted by the Devil, lost his patience and struck him so hard that the Devil flew across the valley, crashed into the Apuan Alps, and pierced a hole through them, forming the Monte Forato (1234 m a.s.l.), a 15-meter-long and 12-meter-high natural stone arch visible from San Pellegrino in Alpe. Near the village is the very place called the "Devil’s Leap," where pilgrims still leave a stone they carry with them as an offering. [5]
