The eastern pine forest

Immense and fascinating, the Pineta di Levante extends from lively Viareggio to Torre del Lago, offering a unique experience between two different realities. Along the way, we encounter two faces of the pine forest: a more worldly one, overlooking the suggestive Viale dei Tigli, a tree-lined avenue of about 5 km, passable by car but even better via a long parallel cycle path. This area, dotted with kiosks, restaurants, and small pubs, is a lively meeting point, especially on warm summer evenings, where young people and families seek relaxation and refreshment. Here, among arcades, rides and spaces dedicated to the little ones, the pine forest comes alive with life and fun. Along the Viale, we also encounter the refined Villa Borbone, today home to exhibitions and cultural meetings, with its splendid private park.

On the other hand, immersed in the quiet and wild beauty of the pine forest, we find a more peaceful reality. This part, inside the pine forest, offers the opportunity to practice sports or to walk immersed in the serenity of the Natural Park. Here, a multifaceted landscape is revealed, with hygrophilous forests and marshy areas that alternate in the vast wooded area, dominated by stone pines and deciduous trees. Proceeding inland, you can observe the characteristic vegetation successions of the Park.

Leaving the dune environment behind, you cross a retro-dune area, a refuge during the migration of aquatic bird species such as the teal or the grey heron. Entering a wooded strip of maritime pine, the result of past reforestation to protect the pine forest from the effects of marine aerosol, you come across shrubs such as the common juniper and the prickly juniper. These mix thanks to the unique climatic conditions, creating a varied environment. Proceeding inland, depressions called 'lame' alternate, which flood during rainy periods, and ancient dunes or tombolos, colonized by stone pines and holm oaks. In the lame, the presence of hygrophilous vegetation such as alder, hornbeam, white poplar and ash, with the Greek periploca climbing on them, makes the environment particularly fascinating and rich in biodiversity.