ITALIANO
Guests of Hotel Storyville are privileged to be just steps away from the WWF free beach between Forte dei Marmi and Cinquale, known as “Le Dune di Forte dei Marmi.”
Within the protected WWF Oasis, you can still admire the ancient landscape of Versilia, where a charming free beach stretches about 200 meters wide with generally very clean seabeds. Its uniqueness lies in being the only stretch of coastal dune (500 linear meters) along the entire Tuscan coastline north of Viareggio (a 30 km sandy coastline, plus 10 km of Ligurian coast up to the Monte Marcello promontory, all of which have a heavily built environment).
ENVIRONMENT
A strip of untouched dunes along the Versilia coast: The area, covering 3.17 hectares, contains a small botanical garden established in the 1970s by the University of Bologna to study the effects of pollution on coastal vegetation. It is part of the Protected Areas System of the Tuscany Region, classified as an Area of Local Interest (A.n.p.i.l), located on the coast of Forte dei Marmi (Lucca), in a public land zone where WWF is committed to protecting the last coastal dunes of Versilia, with their endemic species, and fragments of pine forest and Mediterranean scrub bordering beach and residential areas. Among the Mediterranean species are the creeping juniper, wild olive, myrtle, strawberry tree, oak, fragrant broom, and rock rose.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Among the sand-dwelling species (psammophiles), the precious golden beach broom and the sea cornflower, both endemic to the northern Tuscan coast, are particularly lush and abundant, mixed with more common plants like sandwort, beachgrass, sea carrot, helichrysum( mediterranean strawflower), beach spurge, and sea lily.
During the winter, you can observe: Cirl Bunting, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blackcap, and Sardinian Warbler. On the sea, just off the shore, rare wintering seabirds can be seen: Red-necked Grebe, Scoter, as well as Great Crested Grebe, Mediterranean Gull, and Sandwich Tern.
Among the insects, the Sacred Beetle is notable.
YOUR ADVANTAGE
Considering the high cost of a standard umbrella with chair and sunbed, the possibility of having a clean, comfortable, and completely free solution is certainly a great advantage.
HOW TO GET THERE
Getting to the dunes of Forte dei Marmi is very easy. They are located along the seafront between Forte dei Marmi (LU) and Cinquale di Montignoso (MS), precisely in the Vittoria Apuana district, not far from the mouth of the Versilia river and Lake Porta.
If you prefer the convenience of a private beach, you can book your umbrellas directly on Spiagge.it and enjoy the ultimate relaxation!
