Parks and pine forests

The green heart of the Etruscan coast

More than 20% of the Etruscan coast consists of parks and environmentally protected areas:dunes, pine forests and green coastal areas represent a natural heritage that every year attracts visitors from all over the world.
Green tourism lovers find here a net of signalled trails and equipped areas.
The WWF nature reserves, the Tomboli biogenetic reserve in Cecina and Rimigliano nature park are just some examples of the rich coastal environment: here vegetation has found the ideal conditions to grow spontaneoulsy, and by the blue of the sea it creates landscapes of unique beauty.

 
Magona Park

Magona Park


This protected area that extends over 1600 hectares is the perfect place to enjoy nature and sport activities: 16 hiking and horeback riding trails that span roughly 50 Km for. The park is  characterized by holm-oaks, pines, strawberry trees, elms, maples, Scotch brooms, mastic trees, guelder roses and heather; thanks to the thick vegetation, this typical Mediterranean maquis shelters many animal species such as roes, fallow deers, squirrels, hares, mouflons, porcupines, foxes and migratory birds such as buzzards, wood-pigeons and woodcocks.

Marradi Pine Forest

The Marradi pine forest is located in the heart of Castiglioncello, along Aurelia Road and close to the sea; it extends over 7,5 ha and hosts several historical buildings such as the “casa del fascio” and “villa Celestina” as well as two venues which were among the trendiest ones in Italy from the end of the fifties and the beginning of the sixties: the “fazzoletto” and “il cardellino”. The century-old forest was created from Diego Martelli and the baron Patrone;  from an environmental perspective, it owes its peculiarity to the fact that it overlooks the cliff, which is the element that characterizes at best Castiglioncello’s coastline.

Park of Baratti-Populonia

The Archeological Park of Baratti and Populonia

For Informations and reservations: +39 0565 226445

Email: prenotazioni@parchivaldicornia.it


Populonia, the only Etruscan city by the sea

The archeological park of Baratti and Populonia is located on the slopes of the promontory of Piombino, and looks down onto the bay of Baratti. Here are the archeological monuments of the city of Populonia. The monumental remains of the city and of the necropolises, with the remains of minerals and iron slag (waste) glinting here and there as one strolls along the walking routes, are a tangible sign of the importance of this settlement in the Etruscan and Roman periods, up until its final transformation in the middle ages. This history of different landscapes, which are all linked by a common theme, can be rediscovered by exploring the various walks across the park and enable us to retrace many different aspects of the ancient civilization of Populonia, within a natural environment of extraordinary beauty.

The necropolis and the industrial areas of Populonia. Overlooking the Gulf of Baratti

In days of old, Populonia was famous for the production of metal, in particular iron, worked on the beach and in the immediate hinterland, which shines in the sunlight and today is the most tangible trace of the long-standing mining tradition of the city. Within the Park, the remains of the industrial buildings can be seen and a stroll on the beach enables the visitor to observe the site of an ancient forge. The discharges of the iron production through the centuries have submerged one of the largest magnificent necropolises of the city: the necropolis of San Cerbone. On the first hills, quarry areas alternate the picturesque necropolis of the caves, that houses chamber tombs excavated into the rock.

The routes and the monastery of San Quirico. Ancient roads and new trekking routes

Populonia was a city divided in two: an upper city with temples and residential areas and a lower city with the port, the iron production facilities and the necropolises. Through ancient routes it is possible to cross the one that today represents a landscape of extraordinary natural beauty and testifies diverse human activities. A paved road, known as the Via della Romanella, leads from the lower city of Populonia to the acropolis. The Monastery Road enables the visitor to make a jump into the past: the medieval period of Populonia is revealed through the remains of the benedictine monastery of San Quirico, hidden in the woods.

The archaeological experimental centre Davide Mancini. Experimental archaeology and teaching activities

A system of teaching panels with illustrations helps the visitor find his way around all the park's routes. Here you can admire an accurate reconstruction of a dwelling from the bronze age. Qualified local guides provide interesting information about the  ancient crafts in the area. Workshops for students and groups  with reference to the Etruscans' daily life, crafts and arts are regularly arranged.

Park of Montioni

Nature reserves of Montioni

7000 hectares of tree-covered hills where the visitor can roam along countless paths once used by woodcutters, charcoal burners, shepherds and hunters. Another feature of this park is the mineral exploitation of the area in the past decades: alum  caves and the remains of a mining village built by Elisa Bonaparte, Princess of Piombino of the Napoleonic era are still visible.


For Informations and Reservations: +39 0565 226445

Email: prenotazioni@parchivaldicornia.it

Park of Poggio Neri

Nature reserve of Poggio Neri

Traces of an ancient economy based on charcoal, chestnut and hunting are clearly visible in this park. The  park houses a woodland museum that provides visitors with an overview about the crafts related to the forest. In particular,it boasts a perfect and detailed reconstruction of the charcoal burner's craft: a traditional hut, a drier and a charcoal pile. To enable everyone to enjoy the park, a path suitable for wheelchairs has been provided.


For Information and Reservations: +39 0565 226445

Email: prenotazioni@parchivaldicornia.it

Park of Rimigliano

The Coastal parks of Rimigliano

The park is located between San Vincenzo and Piombino: 120 hectares featured by sea lilies, dunes covered by juniper, myrthle, holm oaks, cork trees and pines. A wild landscape along the beautiful, long sandy beach.


For Informations and Reservations: +39 0565 226445

Email: prenotazioni@parchivaldicornia.it

Park of San Silvestro

The Archaeological Mines Park of San Silvestro

For Informations and reservations: +39 0565 226445

Email: prenotazioni@parchivaldicornia.it


A journey into the heart of the land

Situated behind Campiglia Marittima, the Park covers and area of approximately 450 hectares. In 1996 it was founded in order to give value to a vast mining territory and since then it has been characterized by the strong link between man and resources,the settlement and the extraction activity, archaeology and the countryside.

The Temperino Valley and its mines

The valley houses the archaeological and mineral museum, where you will find  materials from the excavation in the medieval village of San Silvestro and a collection of minerals from Campigliese. From this point the visit starts: an experienced guide takes visitors along the 360 meters of the Temperino mine. Equipped with safety helmets, the visitors discover a wide range of rocks, minerals and traces of the work of the miners.

Through the last decades of mining history

Coming out of the Temperino Mine, the route goes up towards the area of the earle shaft, where the storyboards of the museums of the mining machinery and the miners tell the visitor the mining history of the last decades, up until the arrival of the mine crisis in 1976. A video shown in the Morteo, the old canteen, testifies the mineres' daily life and works as an introduction to the Lanzi-Temperino tunnel, where aboard a train, visitors travel on the same route that minerals once took to reach the treatment installations of the Lanzi Valley. Inside the tunnel, the working equipment, shapes and colours of the minerals and a picturesque stop in the main extraction area will bring the visitor to the discovery of an extraordinary underground world.

The fortress of San Silvestro: a window on medieval times

The heart of the park can be reached on foot by following hiking paths through a landscape of woodland and Mediterranean scrub hiding ancient mining remains. Here, situated above depp valleys is the "Rocca di  San Silvestro", a village of  metal miners and foundry men from the 10th and 11th Century AD, who exploited the rich local reserves of copper and silver-bearing lead of the area. An itinerary through the remains of houses, the church, the cemetery, the residential and the industrial zones recounts the daily life during the medieval period.

Park of Sterpaia

The Coastal Parks of Sterpaia

The park is located in the wide gulf between Piombino and Follonica (Livorno province) and is made up of a rare wet forest, typical of the old Maremma coastal landscape, home to centuries-old plants and small animals. Beautiful dunes separate the forest of ash trees and oaks from the beautiful 10 km long beaches.


For Information and Reservations: +39 0565 226445

Email: prenotazioni@parchivaldicornia.it