The story of Dead Man Mountain

Italy's Apennine mountains are beautiful, and some have interesting stories about them. In the Garfagnana region of Tuscany, the legend of the dead man mountain, or Uomo Morto is told to tourists by the locals. Monte Cusna is the 2nd highest peak in the northern Apennines after Monte Cimone. It is very steep and remote, with an altitude of 2,121 metres (6,959 ft). Looking up at the imposing outline of a man from the town below is an amazing sight. The legend of the Uomo Morto is: A shepherd and a shepherdess met on the prairie with their sheep and spent many afternoons together. They would watch the far-away sea, and reveal their dreams. Their love grew, but at the end of the summer, the young shepherd began to spend more and more time watching the sea. He thought of the ships that traveled the sea from Pisa. The girl began to worry about him. One day, the young shepherd confided to her that he desired to abandon the mountains and become a sailor to get to know new places and people. So one day he departed for the sea. The young shepherdess remained alone on the mountain, hoping that one day her love would return to her on the mountain. But months passed, the shepherdess spent long hours watching the sea, praying to God that her lost love would return. She didn't speak to anyone, but sat staring at the sea. One summer, another young boy climbed the mountain and fell in love with the shepherdess. Her sadness made her even more attractive. He tried to talk to the girl, but she resisted. One day the new shepherd confided to her his sincere and profound love that he had for her and wanted to understand the reason for her sadness. The shepherdess recounted the story of the unfortunate love and how she couldn't return the affectionate gestures and kind words of the new shepherd. All of his efforts were futile. One day the young shepherd decided to climb to the peak of Pania della Croce and ask God for a suggestion to make the girl forget about her lost love. God revealed that the only way would be to inhibit the girl from viewing the sea, but he would have to sacrifice himself. He would be transformed into a giant of stone, hiding the view to the sea. The young shepherd for love of the girl accepted, and from that day, his body was impressed between the mountains and remembered as the dead man.
There are many paths and trails to follow up the mountain, there are also six refuges that you can stop and rest at and eat before scaling back down. One of the highlights of our stay here in Tuscany was climbing the Dead man Mountain and looking down at the surrounding towns through the clouds.