Driving along the road leading from Modena to the Abetone pass, after the nth bend, an expanse of stone roofs surmounted by a bell tower appears below.
To stretch our legs, we stopped and discovered a lovely village.

Placed at the confluence of the Rio Le Motte (Rio San Francesco) and the Rio dell’Acquicciola, in a sunny valley that has at east the Monte Cimone, at south east the Monte Libro Aperto and the Monte Lagoni; at west the Monte Modino and the “Fiancata” of the Rotàri; at south the Abetone pass, at north the Scoltenna gorges.

A short history:
The ancient village has more than 1000 years of history.
Some source dates the origin back to 2nd century b.C., when a few Ligurians took refuge in the Apennines.
The first document mentioning the village dates back to 1038 and sanctioned the conveyance of the “Fortress called Fiumalbo” from the marquis Bonifacio di Canossa to Viberto, bishop of Modena.

A peculiarity:
The local dialect is markedly different from those of the surrounding area, both of Emily and of Tuscany (there are also dictionary Fiumalbo dialect-Italian-English).
Seei area di Fiumalbo e Pievepelago
Fiumalbo offers many events, as for example the patronal festival of St Bartholomew when the village is lightened by small candles or the carnival torchlight walk (Thursday before Lent).
The village deserves not only a visit, but also a relaxing holiday walking through the woods, with beeches and firs up to 1860 yards, chestnuts, hazels, maples and so on.

For more info:
wikipedia: Fiumalbo
i borghi più belli d'Italia: Fiumalbo (en)