Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli Park
From dunes to pine forests, a natural paradise to explore
Sand dunes, large green pine forests, marshes, lush forests and fragrant Mediterranean scrub: the Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli Regional Park is a mosaic of very different environments that have remained intact.
The protected area covers a wide coastal strip, including the municipalities of Pisa, Viareggio, San Giuliano Terme, Vecchiano, Massarosa and Livorno.
The Park is divided into several zones: the Macchia Lucchese, the Massaciuccoli Lake and the lacustrine lands surrounding it, also discoverable by boat, the wonderful former Presidential Estate of San Rossore, the Tombolo and Migliarino forests and the river outlets of the Arno and the Serchio. The Park also includes the Secche della Meloria, the coastal rocks lying between Livorno and the Gorgona Island.
Three thousand hectares are covered by swamp and humid areas, which are wrapped up in unique vegetation, while a third of the Park’s surface is covered by woods composed of poplar, holm oak and pine trees.
Where the marshlands, known as lame in dialect, spring up almost from nowhere, the swamp birds reign free, such as white ibis and herons, while in the woods it is easy to cross paths with wild boar and fallow deer.
The Park's flora includes some rarities such as sundew (a small carnivorous plant) and Greek periploca, a rare liana, as well as marsh orchid, while the beautiful sand cornflower grows on the dunes.
The San Rossore Estate is the heart of the park, and the largest pine forest in Europe: it once belonged to the Italian President of the Republic, and you can still admire the presidential villa of Gombo.
The Park can be visited through free excursions or with a guide, even for young children, not only on foot but also by bicycle, on board a buggy, a little ecological train or by small boat.