Piombino
the new cruise gate for southern Tuscany
Dedicated page for cruise operators
Piombino is located in Alta Maremma and is part of Val di Cornia, extending along the Tuscan coast.
A corner of Tuscany looking onto the islands of the archipelago, while the area is home to Pelagos Cetacean Sanctuary, characterized by a high biodiversity and inhabited by marine mammals.
Originated next to the Etruscans Fufluns – now Populonia – the only Etruscan city located on the coast, Piombino was often the target of pirate raids as the land is rich in minerals, and its port has been an important trade centre in the Mediterranean since ancient times, becoming, in modern times, the heart of the ltalian steel sector: trains run all over ltaly on tracks built in Piombino.
The visit begins at the ticket office in the Archaeology and Minerals Museum and continues in the tunnel of the Temperino Mine, to discover the underground world and the evolution of copper, lead, silver and zinc exploration and extraction techniques in the Val di Cornia.
After leaving the mine, in just a few minutes you reach Pozzo Earle, where the Museum of Mining Equipment and the Miners’ Museum (Morteo) tell the story of the final decades of mining activities in the area.
The entrance to the Lanzi-Temperino Tunnel is in front of the Morteo, the miners’ old canteen and meeting place where they could chat about their lives underground. From here, the journey starts on board the characteristic mining train, re-tracing the journey of the minerals, from where they were extracted in the Valle del Temperino to the processing plants in the Valle Lanzi.
At the back of this valley stand the ruins of the medieval Rocca San Silvestro castle, which dominated the mining valley in medieval times and is now the heart of the Park.
It is also possible to go trekking, with various itineraries differing in length and difficulty.
The Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia is divided into two areas that show visitors the transformation of the landscape and the city through the centuries:
In the lower part you can see the two Etruscan necropoleis, the calcarenite quarries and the industrial zones where hematite, from deposits on Elba, was worked to obtain iron ingots
In the high part you can visit the Acropolis of Populonia, with its temples, buildings, mosaics and Roman roads, as well as the ruins of the huts of the first Etruscan settlement with the walls that surrounded the city on the side facing the sea of the Gulf of Baratti.
It is also possible to go trekking, with various itineraries differing in length and difficulty.
Piombino’s headland is a terrace overlooking the Tuscan archipelago
This makes it a great place to dive into its wonderful waters.
Probably the most convenient place to start is from the Gulf of Baratti. Both the Etruscan coast and the island of Elba can be easily reached from there. Excursions are usually organized by rubber dinghy. They last from 2 hours (for the closest sites) to 6/7 hours for full days and the most distant sites.
The kinds of immersions that are usually offered are either for non-certified divers who want to try this experience (so-called ‘baptism of the sea’) or for certified divers with immersions to various depths.
There are a number of spas near Piombino, some dating back to Roman times.
Thermal baths at these facilities can be organized, with the possibility of complete wellness programmes (massages, sauna, spa…).
There are also on-site catering services.
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Francesca Morucci
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