Piombino

THE MUSES OF BOTTICELLI

In these misty Florentine days memory returns to my beloved Piombino, with its luminous sky and salty air, and walks along the citadel with my dearest sister, Battistina. We were walking serenely and caught a fleeting glimpse of Elba and of the smaller islands, Cerboli and Palmaiola, floating pearls of the sea. Then a smile at the fi shermen who are cheerfully shouting and briskly at workmending their nets in the harbor; and a visit to the sick in the hospital; the poor in need of love.

We return to the Castello and ascend the long slope that flanks the Casa delle Bifore. We stop there in front of the wall, say goodbye, and she meets her husband, Iacopo Appiani. A dreamy thought touched me, then, when I was alone. I leaned out from the Rocchetta and greeted the dolphins diving playfully, the seagulls in fl ight, and the clouds fi nely painted by the Libeccio. Painted like Spring, like a rising Venus, like me.

Sandro Botticelli knows, he knows me, he knows how to read my soul. He has made me eternal in his grand portraits. He truly loves me, like Giuliano also loves me. Giuliano de’ Medici, yes, I love him too, in spite of my husband. This love makes me cough. It will be the end of me. I sigh, I miss the salty scent of my Piombino. Another time, another life… I sigh again. I long for my carefree Piombino, I long for the carefree me.

Simonetta Vespucci (Born Cattaneo, 1453 – 1476)

ARCHAEOLOGY SCUBA DIVING AT THE BEACHES AND THE NATURAL OASIS

On a promontory overlooking the sea, Piombino has a long history that can be read in its architectural monuments, works of art, and museums. The old town is enclosed within the perimeter of the ancient walls, partly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, and is guarded by its fortifi cations. The streets that lead from the old town to the marina speak of the medieval and Renaissance past. The old port is sheltered under a rocky outcrop, near the animal head fountains.

Piazza Bovio, overlooking the sea, invites you embrace the Tuscan Archipelago and the Corsican coasts. Piombino thrives in a unique environment: not far from the Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia, with its necropolis; and the acropolis of Populonia, the only Etruscan settlement on the sea. Of particular beauty is a series of beaches with diff erent characteristics: of fi ne or of coarse sand, and protected by a thick pine forest or enclosed by protected coves where rocks prevail. There are beaches with facilities or those that are free, sometimes wild and pristine. All aquatic sports and leisure are possible.

Important natural areas include the Sterpaia Coastal Park where you can access stretches of Blue Flag coastline. There is also the Montioni Natural Park which is a veritable green oasis. And, one of the rare Italian wetlands is found here, Orti Bottagone WWF Nature Reserve, which is home to the Black-winged Stilt and Pink Flamingos.

TOURIST OFFICES
PIOMBINO
c/o Palazzo Comunale
Via Ferruccio, 4
Tel. +39 0565.225639
ufficioturismopiombino@parchivaldicornia.it

BARATTI GULF

Entrance of Baratti and Populonia Archeological Park
Tel +39 0565.1970455
+39 393.8111242
ufficioturismobaratti@parchivaldicornia.it

RIOTORTO
c/o Informagiovani
Via De Amicis 34
Tel. +39 0565.252108
ufficioturismoriotorto@parchivaldicornia.it

piombino@costadeglietruschi.eu