If you are a nature-lover and have always wanted to visit Tuscany then we recommend a luxury villa in Florence or a luxury villa in Pistoia, as both are urban destinations where you have amazing museums, churches, architectural gems, restaurants, bars, and shops nearby but are also on the doorstep of one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Tuscany's countryside is famously lovely but it is also more varied and interesting than one might imagine, as well. In fact, stretching through the provinces of Pistoia and Florence, from the Valdinievole to Montalbano, you will find Italy’s largest wetland, the Padule di Fucecchio. This marsh is vast, home to a wide range of flora and fauna, made up of impossibly stunning vistas, and a must-see for anyone who is a fan of the great outdoors and who is spending time in Tuscany.
Consisting of a more or less triangular basin lying in the Valdinievole, south of the Pistoiese Apennines, between Montalbano and the Cerbaie Hills, with its main water supply coming from the water courses of the pre-Apennine slopes, the marshes span 1,800 hectares of land. However, while the Padule di Fucecchio, or Fucecchio Marsh, is a real natural treasure and is impressively vast, it is actually only a small part that remains of what was the ancient lake-marshes, which once covered most of the southern Valdinievole. While there were great losses of chunks of this landscape, this area is still very important and noteworthy as the largest in-land marsh in Italy. It boasts some 200 different bird species - including herons, cranes, nuthatches, kingfishers, ducks, blackbirds, hawfinches, ravens, swans, hawks, owls, woodpeckers, robins, black storks, and more - making it a paradise for birdwatchers, in particular. In fact, the Padule di Fucecchio is actually often known as a, “city of herons,” as it is the most important nesting colony in south-central Italy and boasts the largest number of breeding pairs of herons, at about 1000 per year, and seven different species of heron (including the Nitticora, the Egret, the squacco heron, the Western cattle egret, The Ash Air, the Major White Heron, and the Red Heron).
However, beyond the birds, lucky visitors and nature photographers also have the chance to see other fauna including rabbits, butterflies, harvest mice, and more and a rather fascinating range of flora. The unique micro-climate created by the position of the marsh at the boundary between peninsular and continental Italy means that it enjoys both a Mediterranean and continental climate and simultaneously shelters both hot humid climate species and species from colder northern regions, allowing for wonderful variety and incredible views and hues painted across the landscape. Here you will find the likes of the Frogbit and Royal Fern that are both typical of a warmer climates and a special kind of moss called Sphagnum that is typical of cold northern climates, as well as some of those famous fields of sunflowers in Tuscany during the summer months and pretty flowers such as daffodils and poppies (among many others species) blanketing the grassy areas in spring and summer. As a result, the Padule di Fucecchio has been considered a biotope of particular interest and deserving protection in the list that has been put together by the Italian Botany Society.
In addition to all of this, the landscape of the Padule di Fuccecchio has been marked by the presence of man throughout the centuries and is home to historical sites such as the Medici Cappiano bridge, the Capannone farm complex, industrial archeological structures such as tobacco drying rooms, tablets that mark a barbaric massacre committed by Nazis in the area on August 23rd 1944, and more. Traditional practices also remain alive in the area with marsh grasses such as, "sarello," and, "sala," being collected and woven and used to decorate chairs and flasks by local traditional artisans.
If you have found a luxury villa in Florence or a luxury villa in Pistoia and want to explore this stunning natural gem in Tuscany, just head to the Fucecchio and Castelmartini Marshes Nature Reserve Visitor’s Center in Larciano. Here you can find an exhibition of permanent and temporary art collections of works inspired by the wetland, go on nature-based or historical guided tours, and attend various educational workshops.
However, beyond the birds, lucky visitors and nature photographers also have the chance to see other fauna including rabbits, butterflies, harvest mice, and more and a rather fascinating range of flora. The unique micro-climate created by the position of the marsh at the boundary between peninsular and continental Italy means that it enjoys both a Mediterranean and continental climate and simultaneously shelters both hot humid climate species and species from colder northern regions, allowing for wonderful variety and incredible views and hues painted across the landscape. Here you will find the likes of the Frogbit and Royal Fern that are both typical of a warmer climates and a special kind of moss called Sphagnum that is typical of cold northern climates, as well as some of those famous fields of sunflowers in Tuscany during the summer months and pretty flowers such as daffodils and poppies (among many others species) blanketing the grassy areas in spring and summer. As a result, the Padule di Fucecchio has been considered a biotope of particular interest and deserving protection in the list that has been put together by the Italian Botany Society.
In addition to all of this, the landscape of the Padule di Fuccecchio has been marked by the presence of man throughout the centuries and is home to historical sites such as the Medici Cappiano bridge, the Capannone farm complex, industrial archeological structures such as tobacco drying rooms, tablets that mark a barbaric massacre committed by Nazis in the area on August 23rd 1944, and more. Traditional practices also remain alive in the area with marsh grasses such as, "sarello," and, "sala," being collected and woven and used to decorate chairs and flasks by local traditional artisans.
If you have found a luxury villa in Florence or a luxury villa in Pistoia and want to explore this stunning natural gem in Tuscany, just head to the Fucecchio and Castelmartini Marshes Nature Reserve Visitor’s Center in Larciano. Here you can find an exhibition of permanent and temporary art collections of works inspired by the wetland, go on nature-based or historical guided tours, and attend various educational workshops.
