The Natural Park of Maremma
One slice of the rugged Maremma region in Tuscany is known for its “butteri” (cowboys) and wildlife: mules, timid roe deer, foxes and others wander in the wild amid the scents and colors of Mediterranean shrubbery. This is the Natural Park of Maremma, a 9,000 hectare green oasis extending along the stretch of coast between Principina a Mare and Talamone, in the municipalities of Grosseto, Magliano in Toscana and Orbetello.
Key features of this landscape are the Uccellina mountains, a green coastal ridge dotted with romantic traces of old watchtowers and a Cistercian abbey. At the foot of the mountain ridge lies the Tyrrhenian Sea, with rocky beaches and shores and the mouth of the Ombrone river’s surrounding plains.
The park includes 25 kilometers of coast, a chain hills descending toward the sea with sandy beaches and cliffs, surrounded by marshes, pine forests, cultivated fields and pastures. With intense scents of aromatic herbs, colorful berries and wildlife calls, the Park welcomes the visitor, revealing both sweet and wild sides. The combined effect of all the elements awakens and frees the senses, making the whole park feel like a newly discovered paradise.
The park is packed with wide-ranging and evocative landscapes: the coast and its long sandy beaches; the super-green Uccellina mountain ridge; the pine forest of Marina di Alberese; the mouth of the Ombrone river and the Paludi della Trappola (Trap Marshes), where Maremma cattle live in the wild.
You can visit the park on foot, using the trekking or Nordic walking paths as a guide, or by bike, on horseback, in a covered wagon, via canoe or even atop a donkey, a special excursion designed specifically for children.
Info: parco-maremma.it
