The harshness of this region, in which only the high ground was inhabited for centuries, was reflected in the harsh and difficult way of life.
An economy of subsistence prevailed, based on woodland foraging and grazing, due to the difficulties of cultivating the terrain.
The few cultivated plots were torn from the forest in areas so rugged that they required laborious tilling and terracing. The wet climate and natural disasters made everything worse.
Diet was based on forage from the woods, particularly chestnut flour, which was the staple food for many centuries.
Not being able to make a living from the earth, over time the people gravitated towardsother activities such as the exploitation of the thermal springs at Bagni di Lucca, crafts like the cultivation and spinning of silk and the spice trade.
In the 17th century the plaster and stucco trade started up, and with it the well-known art of figurine making.
Towards the end of the 18th century the plaster figurine trade had spread so far that the “figurinaio” of Lucca became well-known throughout Europe and the world.
The first decades of the 20th century saw further development, in the flowering of the paper industry.