Marina di Cecina is a seaside town on the Etruscan Coast, surrounded by an enormous pinewood, hundreds of years old, that comes right up to the nine-mile-long beach and forms part of the Tomboli di Cecina Biogenetic Nature Reserve. The clear, bright blue sea laps against a long and wide stretch of soft sand, bordered by green Mediterranean shrub. Long passages of free beaches alternate with historic bathing resorts along the coastline, which since 2006 has enjoyed the prestigious Blue Flag award.