Scarlino: Discover Nature and Cultural Heritage

Scarlino brings together several distinct themes to consider when planning your trip: walks in the Padule di Scarlino, the town’s architectural history and traces of mining at Terra Rossa.

Nature and Trails

In the Padule di Scarlino, boardwalks and developed trails allow you to take independent walks through the wetland. Formal recognition as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar List was completed in January 2026. If you would like to include walks through the landscape in your stay, this offers a dedicated nature focus.

Cala Martina is accessed mainly by sea, or on foot or by bicycle via the Via delle Costiere. In the Padule, by contrast, boardwalks and developed trails lead through the wetland. If you are considering both for your trip, take their different access options into account when planning.

Town Walls, Church and Rocca Pisana

The town walls of Scarlino were built from the 11th century onward below the Rocca Pisana. The town’s history includes three gates: the Porta a mare, also called the Porta pisana; the Porta della fonte, also called the Porta senese; and another gate, opened in the 19th century at the behest of Elisa Baciocchi. This third gate connected the town with Puntone, but no longer survives. Construction of the walls therefore began several centuries before the gate was opened in the 19th century.

The Church of San Martino also shows evidence of different building phases: it was built in the 13th century, rebuilt in the Neo-Romanesque style in 1759 and extended in the mid-20th century. The Rocca Pisana is the restored ruin of the Aldobrandeschi castle and stands above Scarlino. At the Riccardo Francovich Territory Documentation Center, archaeological finds trace the history of the hill of the Rocca di Scarlino from the Bronze Age to the 17th century. The building and the finds thus offer different ways to explore the history of the town and its hill.

Mining History at Terra Rossa

From 1911 to 1968, mining cableways transported pyrite extracted from the mines to the port terminal at Terra Rossa. There, the ore was loaded into the holds of merchant ships. Terra Rossa preserves the ore storage silos, the loading gallery and the industrial areas of the former terminal. Transport and loading mark two stages in the same history: the cableways brought the pyrite in, and it was then transferred for shipment by sea.

A short route from Portiglioni–Puntone to Terra Rossa first follows the Lungomare Giuseppe Garibaldi waterfront road and then, after about 300 metres, an unpaved road. The municipal route description was last updated in June 2020; check the details locally before setting out.

When planning your stay, you can weigh up the different themes: walks in the wetland, Scarlino’s architectural history or Terra Rossa’s industrial history. Consider which topic interests you most, then search for hotels in Scarlino.

Discover more destinations: Puntone, Scarlino Scalo, Il Casone, Arcidosso, Grosseto, Montorgiali, Follonica, Magliano In Toscana.

Back to the main travel overview: Grosseto.