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The Alpi Apuani UNESCO Global Geopark is located in north-western Tuscany. The Apuan Alps is well-defined and delimited by the Serchio river (to the north-east, east and south), the Aulella stream, tributary of Magra river (to the north and northwest) and the borders of the Massa Carrara-Versilia plain (to the south-west). The UNESCO Global Geopark comprises the whole territory of the Apuan Alps regional Park and includes all the high slopes next to the main watershed of the mountain range and the deep Apuan valleys. This is why the height difference ranges from 1,947 m a.s.l. of Mt. Pisanino to 45 m a.s.l. of the Frigido river near Massa. The Apuan Alps, at the north-western edge of Tuscany in Northern-Central Italy, are a fascinating orographic complex, worldwide known for its marbles, abysses and caves of its karst underground. 250 geosites testify to the outstanding geodiversity of the Geopark. The geological heritage is characterized by a tectonic window at the centre of the Apuan ridge showing the oldest geological units of the Apenninic belt, belonging to the Paleozoic (about 500 million years ago). The Apuan Alps have long been considered a classical area of the Italian geology, as they represent the most important tectonic window of the Northern Appennines where the lowermost units of the belt are exposed, being formed by a complex of greenschist metamorphic rocks. This complex is overthrusted by allochthonous units formed by non-metamorphic rocks. Overall, the Apuan Alps display rocks covering a long time span, from the Palaeozoic basement to the Cenozoic foredeep sandstones. However, their characteristic rocks are the marbles (e.g. the Carrara marble) occurring at different levels of the metasedimentary sequences. As for mineralogy, the Apuan Alps are also a very interesting area with about 200 mineral species, among which 18 were discovered in this region. The Geopark area is a mountainous territory of great geo-environmental value due to its flora and fauna, which are rich in endemic animals (cave salamander Speleomantes ambrosii, coleoptera Duvalius apuanus, etc.) and vegetal species (small flower Globularia incanescens, plant Salix crataegifolia, etc.).