A real jewel set among the Apuan cliffs in the Apuan Alps Park, a few kilometers from Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, along the road that connects the capital of this small green region in northern Tuscany with Versilia. Both the village and the shores of the lake can be reached on foot along the paved lane that descends from the main road. This once-abandoned hamlet has been partially restored in recent years and, while maintaining a very rustic appearance, has been transformed into an Albergo Diffuso. Isola Santa is embellished by an ancient church dedicated to San Jacopo, mentioned in 1260 and now deconsecrated. The village overlooks an artificial lake, filled by the waters of the stream Turrite Secca stopped by a dam in 1948-49 (for use of the nearby hydroelectric power plant), which partly submerged the ancient village. Every ten years, the emptying of the basin makes resurface the half-destroyed buildings of the village, in particular a mill and a stone bridge.
Some excavations conducted by the University of Pisa between 1976 and 1977 have allowed the discovery of important archaeological data, which testify to the presence of an open-air settlement occupied for a long time by groups of the final phase of the Paleolithic and then Mesolithic, who camped several times in this place.
To be able to easily reach with your vehicle the best observation point of the lake and the characteristic village, from where you can also take suggestive pictures, we recommend, both coming from Castelnuovo and from Versilia, to leave the main road following the road signs for Capanne di Careggine, along Via Monti Mare (3/4 minutes) to get to Ceragetta Resort and then, after 800 meters and park in the large private area of the restaurant of the complex, to be precise in Via Ceragetta, 5.
