Introduction
In the space of a few kilometres, from the coastal plain, the Apuan Alps rise up until almost 2000 metres of elevation with the Mount Pisanino (1947 m).
The proximity to the Tyrrhenian Sea is very important for the climate of the area: the westerlies that arrive from the sea saturated with humidity are forced to rise abruptly to overcome the Apuan barrier. As a consequence, there is the progressive cooling and the subsequent condensation of the water vapour that result in abundant precipitation, that are of a greater extent in proximity of ridges, lower near the coast (1500 mm/year on the Tyrrhenian mountainside; more than 3000 on the northern mountainside). The values of precipitation make the Apuane one of the rainiest areas of the Italian peninsula; it occurs especially in autumn and spring.
To the higher altitudes it doesn’t exist a long dry season, since in the summer there are frequently occasional precipitation, also of high intensity.