Forte dei Marmi Dunes - Free Beach

The dunes of Forte dei Marmi are a naturalistic heritage for the whole of Versilia.

The beach of Forte dei Marmi, anciently characterized by natural dunes, has been preserved and protected for many years by a WWF oasis. The free beach in front of them is kept clean and supervised so that the delicate ecosystem of the dunes remains intact.

The 3.17-hectare area includes a small botanical garden planted in the 1970s by the University of Bologna to study the effects of pollution on coastal vegetation.

Over the years, conservation interventions have been carried out in the botanical garden where the typical sand species have been able to find natural rooting and maintenance.

There are many endemic species, including the goldenrod, an endemic species of northern Tuscany from Cecina to Bocca di Magra, and, very frequently, the beach cornflower, endemic to northern Tuscany and eastern Liguria. There is also the beautiful beach chamomile, which finds its only station here in northern Tuscany.

In the oasis you can find the sea lily, the Cyperus kalli and other typical psammophilous essences, including the juniper, the phillyrea, the holm oak, the buckthorn and the cistus.

The vegetation is also varied, especially in winter, and in addition to the most common species, you can observe the black bunting and the Sardinian warbler. At sea, a short distance from the shore, you can observe wintering seabirds: red-necked grebe, sea scoter, great crested grebe, coral gull, sandwich tern. Among the insects, the sacred scarab.