Tuscany from Punta Ala to Capalbio: along the coast of Maremma

A hundred thirty kilometers of coast that includes the most renowned tourist harbours of Thyrrhene, from Punta Ala to Capalbio, but also natural beauties of the Mediterranean bush and Etruscan and Roman archeological parks. A trip on the coastal part of Grosseto Maremma may satisfy the needs of the most distracted tourist thanks to an enviable natural-historical heritage.

From the swamps and sloughs of the past to nowadays renown of pearl of Tuscany coast, Maremma has gone a long way. It is one of the more charming areas of Central Italy, a natural paradise rich of woods and Mediterranean bushes protected with a great deal of parks but also, since its 130 kilometers of coast were discovered in these last years, an endeavoured destination of Summer tourism.

Maremma is mainly plain and includes about 5.000 square kilometers between Tuscany and Latium: from the mouth of Cecina river to the roundabouts of Civitavecchia, including Giglio and Giannutri islands of the Tuscan archipelago. This area may be divided into the Livorno part (in the North), the Grosseto part (in the centre) and the Latial part (in the South), but the more important and interesting is doubtlessly the one around Grosseto, which is also considerd chief town of Maremma.

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We go through the beautiful pinewood of Tombolo and reach the doors of the walled village Castiglione della Pescaia, popular holiday resort of the Maremma coast. Along the sea spreads the modern part with the canal harbour frequented by fishing and amusement boats. The Medieval part scrambles on a knoll at its shoulders entoured by boundary walls provided with towers that were built during Pisa domain, while on the top raises the Aragonese Citadel (XIV-XV centuries) with angular towers. 20 kilometers far, just in front of Elba island, lays Punta Ala, popular holiday resort and sail capital, from where you may enjoy a beautiful view on the coast of Grosseto Maremma.

Going down the coast we reach Marina di Grosseto, then we cross the Ombrone river and reach Albarese, a small village with a well-known sanctuary. Here we are at the gates of the impressive Maremma Natural Park, which includes the Uccellina Mountains, covered by a thick Mediterranean bush, and the mouth of the Ombrone river forming swamps where graze the Maremma Bardo horses and the big white cows. This area is crossed by many lanes, but the most walked is the one leading to the pitoresque Romanic rests of S. Rubano abbey.

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The mountainous and isolated promontory of Argentario closes the Ortobello lagoon, very interesting place both from a touristic and from a naturalistic point of view. If you go West you meet Porto Santo Stefano which is the main settlement of the area and the sailing point to the Giglio island, if you go South you meet Porto Ercole, pitoresque sailory village which grew in a bay and boasts a nice Citadel and interesting Spanish fortifications.

Our last stop is in Capalbio, Medieval village in the Southern part of the province. We suggest a visit to the marvellous private museum called Tarots Garden: the popular French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle created huge concrete statues (some of them contain bizarre flats with original furnitures) overlaid with motley ceramics and glasses; for this work she found inspiration in the Tarots symbols and in her favourite artist, Gaudì. It is also worth visiting the Citadel, restored by Sieneses in XV century, where you may see Puccini's piano, and going for a walk on the ancient bastions entouring the village.

Vacanze in Toscana

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