Located high up, where chestnut trees give way to beech trees and far from the centre of Pontremoli, Pracchiola is the last village along the Cirone route. The entire ridge between Cisa and Cirone was marked by paths and mule tracks, testifying to how strategic this area was for trade and connections between the two sides of the Apennines. Commercial and social relations between the people on both sides of the ridge were more frequent with nearby neighbours just beyond the ridge than with the valley centres, which required long journeys. Recently, the path of the ancient Via degli Scaleri was restored; this path led from Pracchiola up to the Cirone pass, crossing the old hospice of “Piellaburga,” of which only a few ruins remain—a place of refuge on a difficult and dangerous route.

On the same road, but downstream from Pracchiola, the beautiful “Colombara” bridge was also restored a few years ago.

In the village, the Baroque lines of the Church of the Assumption of Mary, whose parish priest was elected Bishop of Brugnato in 1438, can be misleading: although it is styled in Baroque, the church has much older origins, as it was mentioned in the tithes records at the end of the 13th century.