NATURAL RESERVE TOMBOLI DI CECINA

The Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopoldo II, in 1839, began a plantation of a pine forest along the coast today aoccupied by the Tomboli forest, in order to repair the agricultural crops behind from the violence and saltiness of the sea winds.

In 1859, the forest passed to the italian State property and was declared inalienable and dedicated to a rational sylvan culture.

The current extension of 405 hectares has been reached from the first pine forest, through methodical reforestation. The original purpose to which the pine forest was destined still remains today in all its validity, but to the protective and productive function, others of equal or greater importance have been added, including the recreational one exercised on residents and vacationers. The Biogenetic Nature Reserve called “Tomboli di Cecina” is located along the Tyrrhenian coast, north and south of the mouth of the Cecina river and the town of Marina di Cecina. As mentioned, it has a total extension of about 405 hectares and runs along the coast for 15 kilometers, with a width ranging from 100 to 600 meters. The forest is divided into two areas, traditionally called Northern Tombolo and Southern Tombolo, separated from each other by the built-up area of ​​Marina di Cecina. It is a flat landscape, in which the uniformity of the soil is interrupted by the presence of waterways and slight undulations that along the coast take on the appearance of real dunes that can reach a height of 6-7 meters.