Walking is synonymous with contact with the earth. Trails and footpaths tell of moments or centuries of slow movement. In an era of “there’s no time”, a simple walk or a challenging hike are the easiest ways to regain the time that does exist, that every day seems to slip from our hands but which, if we want it, is there, firmly under our feet.
The Costa degli Etruschi is an area where total wilderness with the face of impenetrable Mediterranean scrub and the work of man, ancient olive groves or the geometry and harmony of important vineyards, exist side by side. The Etruscan Coast dispels a negative myth that surrounds places where Mother Nature has to reckon with industry. It is enough to take a trip to the San Silvestro Archeo-mineralogical Park, a historic memorial of the mining and processing of mineral ore since the Etruscan era, to understand that industrial activity can also be a key to walking and discovering an area rich with environmental and human testimony and aspects just waiting to be found.
And so walking the paths of the Costa degli Etruschi means sharing paths that for centuries were walked by woodsmen, charcoal burners, millers, poachers, poets and shepherds. As well as hiking boots and a map, an open mind to fill with the wide open spaces of this land is also recommended. Near the blue waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea or surrounded by the intense green of the metal-bearing hills, the Mediterranean is always in the air. Whether it’s a libeccio (south-wester), grecale (north-easter) or scirocco (south-easter), at dawn or sunset, in the explosive light of summer or the delicate, hazy light of autumn, the essence of this area gives back to those who move slowly, the joy of discovering places where life is to be lived at a walking pace. And above all, places that help us regain “our” time, in constant movement and in harmony with the sky and the sea.
hiking itineraries:
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CASTAGNETO CARDUCCI