Calafuria Nature Reserve

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Calafuria Nature Reserve

A cliff nestled between sea and hills

Calafuria Nature Reserve

A cliff nestled between sea and hills

A unique experience overlooking the sea

Overlooking the unspoiled beauty of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Livorno is not just a name on the map, but an experience and an emotion to be experienced: a enchantment of cliffs and breathtaking views, hidden coves and access to the sea, where several Blue Flags proudly wave for years.

The Calafuria Nature Reserve: untamed nature and breathtaking landscapes

Located inland south of Livorno, the Calafuria Nature Reserve encompasses a hilly system of approximately 115 hectares of Mediterranean scrub perfectly integrated with the coastal environment. Following one of the many marked and easily accessible trails that wind through the vegetation, you will be amazed by the fascinating panoramas that open up from above on the Livorno horizons and the Tuscan Archipelago. Along the way, you will be surrounded by a variety of trees, including Aleppo pines and holm oaks, as well as plants such as sea holly, mastic, strawberry trees, myrtle, and laurel, which will offer you a fragrant and wild naturalistic experience. Equally diverse is the vibrant wildlife that inhabits the reserve. Here, among the rocks and lush crevices, you may come across various animal species including martens, hedgehogs, foxes, hedgehogs, badgers, and wild boars, which often venture to the sea.

The Calafuria cliff: a coastal paradise waiting to be explored

While venturing along the Calafuria cliff, also part of the homonymous Nature Reserve, you will be captivated by the rugged contours of the sandstone rock formations called “Panchina livornese“, whose colors, ranging from ochre to reddish, stand out against the green of the vegetation and the emerald blue of the sea.

A true invitation to excursion and discovery. From Marina del Boccale to Baia del Rogiolo di Quercianella, you will find a succession of paths and beach accesses, each with its own charm, some equipped and others not, but always marked by appropriate signage.

From the comfortable Scogli Piatti, which gently descend into the water, to the Vaschine di Calafuria, natural pools carved into the rock, remnants of the ancient Etruscan quarries, you can continue your journey towards the beautiful and irregular rock formations of Sassoscritto.

After the inlet of Calignaia and the lookout point of Romito, you will be surprised by Cala del Leone, a wide hidden beach overlooked by Castello di Sonnino.

The reward for your spirit of adventure? How about a refreshing dive into the crystal-clear waters of a marine paradise, the natural habitat of the Red Coral, followed by a sound immersion in the melody of the waves?

Discover the castles and cliff-top coastal towers

The Calafuria coastline is home to very few buildings, some of which deserve your attention. Heading south, a few kilometers after the suburb of Antignano, right at the beginning of the cliff, you will come across a beautiful neo-medieval building: the Boccale Castle. A residential building built on the cliff, with its original core on a 16th-century Medici watchtower.

You won’t even have time to recover from the sight of Castel Boccale and its stretch of cliff that, not far away, also jutting out over the sea, you will be faced with the majestic Calafuria Tower: an ancient 16th-century Medici building, about 20 meters high, that was part of the complex system of watchtowers against the raids of the Barbary pirates. A beautiful square-shaped building accessed by an elegant staircase, supported by a large base, topped by a projecting balcony and a four-sloped roof.

A few kilometers ahead, before reaching the village of Quercianella, majestically erected on a lush green promontory diving directly into the sea, you will finally see the Sonnino Castle: a beautiful neo-medieval style manor built on the remains of a 16th-century Medici fortress by Baron Sidney Sonnino: an Anglican nobleman of Jewish and British descent, Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of the Treasury of the Kingdom of Italy, who made his beloved castle his residence and mausoleum.

Useful informations

Who:

Alone, Children and families, Groups, In pairs, With friends
When:

Spring, Summer
What:

Do activities, Relax
Other characteristics

Free, Outdoors, Reachable by public transport, Without reservation