Seravezzino Landscape - 8

Seravezza is immersed in a unique territory, composed of different environments. A vast mountain area, mostly included in the Apuan Alps Regional Park, is characterized by vertiginous walls, by fresh chestnut woods and by clear waterways (the Serra torrent forms the Malbacco pools, among the most beautiful natural pools in Tuscany), and by the very famous marble quarries (Ceragiola, Cappella, Trambiserra and Monte Altissimo), from which white marble, bardigli, arabesques and breccia, famous throughout the world, are extracted. In the hilly area there are the hamlets of Cerreta San Nicola, Fabbiano, Giustagnana, Minazzana, Basati, Cerreta Sant’Antonio and Azzano, while in the narrow valley floor there are the villages of Riomagno, Malbacco, Corvaia and Ruosina. Finally, the flat area, rich in olive groves and open countryside, is home to the urban centers of Ripa, Strettoia, Pozzi and Querceta.

In 1971, a highly appreciated collective exhibition was held in Giustagnana, where works by Viani, Catarsini, Miozzo and Giovannetti were exhibited, with critical texts by Paloscia, Carlesi, Polacci and Bertoli.

In the plain of the Seravezzo area we find another of the gifts of this land: the Quercetano olive tree, a native variety of the hamlet of Querceta, which later spread to the neighboring municipalities. In Versilia, and in particular in the Quercetana plain, olive cultivation has had a primary importance in the local economy over the millennia, impressing precise characteristics on the landscape. In the Middle Ages, the Querceta plain, which is actually a modest plateau, did not suffer the phenomenon of marshland like the other coastal areas of Versilia, and maintained the traditional olive cultivations, which at the time were the subject of a dispute between Pisa and Lucca, who faced each other in a terrible battle right on this territory. In fact, the oil from Versilia was used by the Pisans as a bargaining chip for their trade with the Arabs and even had the value of money. The Querceta olive tree is a vigorous plant with a characteristic upward trend and with pendulous young branches. The leaves are long and narrow, of a shiny green color. The olive is small, ovoid in shape, slightly elongated at the tip. Productivity is not always constant, good years are followed by very poor years, but the quality of the oil is always excellent. The oil, clear or slightly cloudy and with a beautiful golden olive green color, is medium fruity and delicate, with the right balance between bitter and spicy, rich in hints of freshly cut grass and aromatic herbs.

In the area of ​​Strettoia and on Monte di Ripa in recent years there has been a rebirth of viticulture by young companies, which have revived the ancient tradition of wine production.

THE COASTAL LANDSCAPE FROM FORTE DEI MARMI TO VIAREGGIO

The landscape is dominated by the Apuan Alps which historically represent both a barrier but also a magnet for human settlements, due to the richness of the extractive, water and forest resources and the combination of steep conformations and mineral resources has produced a highly specific territorialization, also now well known at a global level with areas intended for cultivations that alternate with vast wooded areas, for their geological characteristics and for the notable biodiversity (about 50% of the Tuscan biodiversity),

The coastal area of ​​the municipality of Forte dei Marmi constitutes a grandiose natural picture that goes from the sea to the superb peaks of the Apuan Alps, with Monte Altissimo in the foreground and clearly visible from the Forte dei Marmi pier together with Corchia and Pania della Croce and the singular Monte Forato famous for the summer solstice when the newly risen sun perfectly passes through the hole. The landscape of Forte dei Marmi presents characteristic environmental and ecological aspects of aesthetic and traditional value represented by the dunes of Forte dei Marmi. They are, together with the areas south of Viareggio, the only relictual testimony, however altered, legacy of the original dune system. Here the dunes and dune vegetation are preserved in the WWF oasis in Vittoria Apuana where it is still possible to admire the ancient landscape of Versilia prior to the tourist-seaside development. The area of ​​3.17 hectares includes a small botanical garden planted in the Seventies by the University of Bologna to study the effects of pollution on the coastal vegetation rich in sea lilies, Cyperus kalli and other typical psammophilous essences, including juniper, phillyrea, holm oak, tamarisks, buckthorn and cistus.

Along the coastal path, now characterized by bathing establishments, the vegetation is represented by tamarisks and mulberry trees.

An aspect of value and landscape relevance is represented by the pine forests with a prevalence of Stone Pine, and by the matrix of the “ditches” of Roma Imperiale (south side of Forte dei Marmi) where it is possible to observe fragments of landscape that make us understand what the area was like before the urbanization of recent times: the vegetation takes on typically humid connotations with ash trees, plane trees and on the edge of the “ditches” you can appreciate extensive presences of Water Iris. In Roma Imperiale many villas including those of Carlo Carrà and other illustrious intellectuals and artists who met at the Quarto Platano club.

Along the entire coastal strip of Forte dei Marmi you can appreciate the expanse of pine tree tops that almost entirely hide the height of the houses and tower over them leaving your gaze free to wander through the greenery up to the hills of the hinterland and beyond to reach the peaks of the Apuan Alps, which at sunset are tinged with pink and in winter are snow-capped.

Entering Marina di Pietrasanta, near the house of the poet Raffaello Bertoli, the Versiliana park begins. The park derives from the great Macchia di Marina, which was a forest with an enormous extension, from the locality of Motrone to Cinquale (north of Forte dei Marmi). Today it has a surface area of ​​about 800,000 square meters with a front of over a thousand meters along the coast with paths, undergrowth, pines, oaks, holm oaks and there is the Villa la Versiliana that hosted Gabriele d’Annunzio.

Recently, the piers of Tonfano (Marina di Pietrasanta) and Lido di Camaiore have been added to the pier of Forte dei Marmi and so it is possible to enjoy a splendid and varied panorama of the hills and the Apuan Alps.

THE PARKS

On our route there are some parks, we mention the three main ones: to the north the Regional Natural Park of the Apuan Alps, to the south the Regional Park Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli and the whole coast overlooks the International Sanctuary for Marine Mammals.

THE REGIONAL NATURAL PARK OF THE APUAN ALPS

Since 2012 it has become part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks network. This protected natural area includes: Garfagnana (territories belonging to the province of Lucca, which are located on the internal side of the Apuan Alps), Massa Carrara (territories belonging to the province of the same name) and Versilia (territories of the Province of Lucca on the maritime side of the Apuan Alps). 4/5 belong to the province of Lucca. In addition, in 2003 the Apuan Alps Regional Natural Park established the Apuan Alps Mining Archaeology Museum System and of historical interest there are testimonies of the Gothic Line, the partisan struggles and the Second World War, such as the Sant’Anna di Stazzema National Peace Park and the Monte Brugiana Resistance Park. The famous Marble Quarries are part of the park, where the white statuary marble, preferred by Michelangelo, is also extracted. Versilia boasts a long mountaineering tradition and excursions are organized in every season. From the hiking, mountaineering and speleological point of view, the Apuan Alps are a valuable territory, rich in paths, via ferratas (the one on Monte Procinto, opened in 1893, is the oldest in Italy), climbing routes and karst cavities, often threatened by the quarries. The Antro del Corchia attracts speleologists from all over the world. In 2021 the C.A.I. has proposed the establishment of an Apuan Cultural Park.

THE INTERNATIONAL SANCTUARY FOR MARINE MAMMALS (PELAGOS SANCTUARY)

Contrary to popular belief, Versilia overlooks the Ligurian Sea and not the Tyrrhenian Sea and the waters in front are part of the International Sanctuary for Marine Mammals (Pelagos Sanctuary) as well as the Tuscan Archipelago National Park which is considered the largest marine park in the Mediterranean because it includes seven islands, numerous islets and rocks that emerge in a large stretch of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The International Sanctuary for Marine Mammals (Pelagos Sanctuary) is an international protected area established in 1999 thanks to an agreement between Italy, France and the Principality of Monaco, with which the three signatory countries undertake to protect marine mammals and their habitat, protecting them from the direct or indirect negative impacts of human activities. It is a marine area north of the Tyrrhenian Sea of ​​96,000 km2 in the shape of a quadrilateral, which extends around the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, and is bordered by Provence (Giens peninsula in France), Punta Falcone in north-western Sardinia, Capo Ferro in north-eastern Sardinia and Fosso Chiarone in Tuscany. Due to the richness of plankton and pelagic life, during the summer months there is an extraordinary presence of cetaceans of all the species frequenting the Mediterranean. In 2012, Viareggio was the second signatory in Italy of the Partnership of the Pelagos Sanctuary, which includes 51 Italian coastal municipalities. Sighting excursions are organised departing from the port of Viareggio in the spring-summer period.

SAN ROSSORE MIGLIARINO MASSACIUCCOLI REGIONAL PARK

It is a protected natural area established in 1979 that protects over 23,000 hectares in total. The park’s territory extends along the coastal strip of the provinces of Pisa and Lucca, including the municipalities of Pisa, Viareggio, San Giuliano Terme, Vecchiano, Massarosa and It also includes Lake Massaciuccoli, the mouths of the rivers Serchio, Arno and Fiume Morto, the former presidential estate of San Rossore, the forests of Tombolo, Migliarino and Macchia Lucchese, and manages the Secche della Meloria marine protected area.

The park is divided into several main areas: the Macchia Lucchese, to the north, enclosed between Viareggio, Torre del Lago Puccini and the coast; the Massaciuccoli area includes the lake and the marshy area surrounding it; the vast reclamation areas taken from the lake, respectively in the Municipality of Vecchiano and in the Municipality of Massarosa. Along the coast there are the important estates of Migliarino, San Rossore, Tombolo and Coltano, partly used for agriculture and partly for woodland.

The management areas of the park are completed by the Meloria shoals, an important system of shoals, with two outcropping rocks, with seabeds of important naturalistic value.

It presents various types of natural environments. The wooded area is prevalent, in fact a third of the surface of the Park is covered by woods and has poplar, alder, ash, holm oak and pine trees

(domestic pine and maritime pine). There are also dunes and marshy areas. In these environments there is a rare flora (sundews, periploche, osmunda, pink hibiscus).

The fauna includes a rich variety of birds (LIPU oasis of the park), including: the mallard, the herons (the grey heron, the great white heron and the little egret), the waders, the gulls, the ducks and the cormorants. There are also the buzzard, the black-winged stilt, the bee-eater, the moorhens and the kingfisher. In the woods it is easy to encounter the green and red woodpecker species. It is a nesting area for the Kentish plover. The presence of amphibians and reptiles is notable, including the viper.

There are a bit of all the freshwater fish typical of the Italian plains (carp, pike, tench), as well as fish that go up the rivers from the sea such as the eel and the grey mullet. The latter also enter Lake Massaciuccoli. It is important to mention the presence of the Louisiana red crayfish, which spread from the lake to the swamp and subsequently to all the humid environments, not only those bordering the park.

Several medium and small-sized mammals also live in the Park, including the fallow deer, the wild boar, the wild rabbit and the red fox. The wolf has been sighted for some years.

THE PARKS

On our route there are some parks, we mention the three main ones: to the north the Regional Natural Park of the Apuan Alps, to the south the Regional Park Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli and the whole coast overlooks the International Sanctuary for Marine Mammals.

THE REGIONAL NATURAL PARK OF THE APUAN ALPS

Since 2012 it has become part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks network. This protected natural area includes: Garfagnana (territories belonging to the province of Lucca, which are located on the internal side of the Apuan Alps), Massa Carrara (territories belonging to the province of the same name) and Versilia (territories of the Province of Lucca on the maritime side of the Apuan Alps). 4/5 belong to the province of Lucca. In addition, in 2003 the Apuan Alps Regional Natural Park established the Apuan Alps Mining Archaeology Museum System and of historical interest there are testimonies of the Gothic Line, the partisan struggles and the Second World War, such as the Sant’Anna di Stazzema National Peace Park and the Monte Brugiana Resistance Park. The famous Marble Quarries are part of the park, where the white statuary marble, preferred by Michelangelo, is also extracted. Versilia boasts a long mountaineering tradition and excursions are organized in every season. From the hiking, mountaineering and speleological point of view, the Apuan Alps are a valuable territory, rich in paths, via ferratas (the one on Monte Procinto, opened in 1893, is the oldest in Italy), climbing routes and karst cavities, often threatened by the quarries. The Antro del Corchia attracts speleologists from all over the world. In 2021 the C.A.I. has proposed the establishment of an Apuan Cultural Park.

THE INTERNATIONAL SANCTUARY FOR MARINE MAMMALS (PELAGOS SANCTUARY)

Contrary to popular belief, Versilia overlooks the Ligurian Sea and not the Tyrrhenian Sea and the waters in front are part of the International Sanctuary for Marine Mammals (Pelagos Sanctuary) as well as the Tuscan Archipelago National Park which is considered the largest marine park in the Mediterranean because it includes seven islands, numerous islets and rocks that emerge in a large stretch of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The International Sanctuary for Marine Mammals (Pelagos Sanctuary) is an international protected area established in 1999 thanks to an agreement between Italy, France and the Principality of Monaco, with which the three signatory countries undertake to protect marine mammals and their habitat, protecting them from the direct or indirect negative impacts of human activities. It is a marine area north of the Tyrrhenian Sea of ​​96,000 km2 in the shape of a quadrilateral, which extends around the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, and is bordered by Provence (Giens peninsula in France), Punta Falcone in north-western Sardinia, Capo Ferro in north-eastern Sardinia and Fosso Chiarone in Tuscany. Due to the richness of plankton and pelagic life, during the summer months there is an extraordinary presence of cetaceans of all the species frequenting the Mediterranean. In 2012, Viareggio was the second signatory in Italy of the Partnership of the Pelagos Sanctuary, which includes 51 Italian coastal municipalities. Sighting excursions are organised departing from the port of Viareggio in the spring-summer period.

SAN ROSSORE MIGLIARINO MASSACIUCCOLI REGIONAL PARK

It is a protected natural area established in 1979 that protects over 23,000 hectares in total. The park’s territory extends along the coastal strip of the provinces of Pisa and Lucca, including the municipalities of Pisa, Viareggio, San Giuliano Terme, Vecchiano, Massarosa and It also includes Lake Massaciuccoli, the mouths of the rivers Serchio, Arno and Fiume Morto, the former presidential estate of San Rossore, the forests of Tombolo, Migliarino and Macchia Lucchese, and manages the Secche della Meloria marine protected area.

The park is divided into several main areas: the Macchia Lucchese, to the north, enclosed between Viareggio, Torre del Lago Puccini and the coast; the Massaciuccoli area includes the lake and the marshy area surrounding it; the vast reclamation areas taken from the lake, respectively in the Municipality of Vecchiano and in the Municipality of Massarosa. Along the coast there are the important estates of Migliarino, San Rossore, Tombolo and Coltano, partly used for agriculture and partly for woodland.

The management areas of the park are completed by the Meloria shoals, an important system of shoals, with two outcropping rocks, with seabeds of important naturalistic value.

It presents various types of natural environments. The wooded area is prevalent, in fact a third of the surface of the Park is covered by woods and has poplar, alder, ash, holm oak and pine trees

(domestic pine and maritime pine). There are also dunes and marshy areas. In these environments there is a rare flora (sundews, periploche, osmunda, pink hibiscus).

The fauna includes a rich variety of birds (LIPU oasis of the park), including: the mallard, the herons (the grey heron, the great white heron and the little egret), the waders, the gulls, the ducks and the cormorants. There are also the buzzard, the black-winged stilt, the bee-eater, the moorhens and the kingfisher. In the woods it is easy to encounter the green and red woodpecker species. It is a nesting area for the Kentish plover. The presence of amphibians and reptiles is notable, including the viper.

There are a bit of all the freshwater fish typical of the Italian plains (carp, pike, tench), as well as fish that go up the rivers from the sea such as the eel and the grey mullet. The latter also enter Lake Massaciuccoli. It is important to mention the presence of the Louisiana red crayfish, which spread from the lake to the swamp and subsequently to all the humid environments, not only those bordering the park.

Several medium and small-sized mammals also live in the Park, including the fallow deer, the wild boar, the wild rabbit and the red fox. The wolf has been sighted for some years.