Italy · Toscana · Sea and coast
fine sand, pine woods and squares named after flowers, on the Etruscan Coast
Marina di Bibbona sits on a stretch of Tuscan coast where there is almost nothing between the road and the sea: only pine wood, dunes and a wooden walkway that climbs over them. The village was built for holidays and makes no secret of it, with its squares named after flowers and the row of campsites along via dei Cipressi; but go down to the beach early in the morning, when the sea is flat and the shadow of a tamarisk reaches the water's edge, and you understand why people come back. The real village, the one made of stone, stands on the hill seven kilometres further inland.
Sleeping
Two options close together and quite different: a bare surfaced yard a few steps from the pine wood, and a serviced area at the other end of the village.
Piazza dei Ciclamini, 57020 Marina di Bibbona (LI)
bare but cheap. It is a surfaced yard, not a serviced area: no shade, no hook-ups, and cars use the same bays as motorhomes. What you get instead are the toilets and the position, which is what you come for: cross the pine wood and four hundred and fifty metres later you are on the sand. Arrive after 8pm and the first night costs nothing
around thirty bays, shared with cars
Via dei Cipressi 11, 57020 Marina di Bibbona (LI)
well kept, but in full sun and on grass: you feel it already in June, and in August it has to be reckoned with. It is at the other end of the village, towards the campsites of via dei Cipressi, about eight hundred metres from the sea and the pine wood. Toilets and showers are declared by the listings and have not been tried; the showers are said to be paid for
Getting around
Seeing
Little to visit and a lot to walk: here the places are the beach, the pine wood and a small fort. Tap a marker on the map to open its entry below.
Beach · free entry
fine sand, dunes and tomboli, and a seabed that stays shallow for a good many metres: it is the reason this beach works with children. It holds the Blue Flag, beach clubs alternate with free stretches, and in season there are six lifeguard stations; one free stretch allows dogs. The coordinates are to be taken on the spot, at the foot of the walkway: the map marks no access here
Park · free entry · 43.24997, 10.52549
the pine wood begins where the last row of houses ends and runs to the dune. Inside it a cycle and footpath runs five kilometres to Cecina Mare, unsurfaced and shaded almost all the way, good on foot as well. The coordinates are those of via della Pineta, the road you enter it by from the village: the exact point of the entrance is to be taken on the spot
Castle · 43.23796, 10.52801
this is the small fort the hamlet takes its other name from, Marina del Forte. The Lorraine dukes had it built in the second half of the eighteenth century, twin to the fort at Castagneto and a contemporary of Forte dei Marmi in Versilia: a square plan, three floors and a look-out terrace on top, which once carried small cannon. It served several purposes at once, defending the coast, checking the health of those who landed, making life hard for smugglers and shipping goods. In 2019 it passed from the state to the municipality of Bibbona under a programme to open it up: whether and how it can be visited is a question to ask in the village
Church · free entry · 43.24481, 10.52723
the village church, towards the pine wood, with the motto "O beata solitudo" on its front
When
In summer the Marina does everything in the evening, and the two real festivals are one up on the hill and one in the hamlet inland.
on selected days, from 7 to 11 in the evening, jugglers and musicians in the main square of the Marina: the days are in the council's summer calendar, and it is not every evening. In the same weeks, from mid June to mid September, there is the craft market, and the funfair is in via dei Pini
the evening of folk music in piazza della Vittoria, up in the stone village seven kilometres from the sea: it is the excuse to go up there, and you go in the evening
the festival of the inland hamlet, in piazza Galileo Galilei, when the beach season is over and the coast empties out
Remember
Marina di Bibbona · part two
and then?
What to do, what to taste, and where to go tomorrow.
What we did starting from here, ordered by driving time.
It is not a seafood dish and it belongs here: boiled eggs coated in toasted almonds and fried, eaten hot and with your hands.
The next stop, ordered by driving time.
Distances and times by road, measured with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data.
Looking
24 shots from our visit. Tap one to see it large.
