Punta del Corvo in the Maremma Regional Park

The coast heading north from Talamone is already part of the Maremma Regional Park. This nature reserve in southern Tuscany covers the area south of Principina a Mare, the mouth of the Ombrone river, the Uccellina mountains and the hinterland as far as Albarese. That’s also where the visitor centre is located. Special access regulations apply for hiking, horse riding, kayaking or cycling tours. Many tours can only be done with prior registration and, in some cases, only with a guide.

The nature park doesn’t offer a real primeval forest, but rather a typical Mediterranean natural and cultural landscape with grazing land and Maremma cattle, natural sandy beaches full of driftwood, dunes, marshes and shallow inland lakes. On the hills, which rise up to 400 m, you’ll find pine and holm oak forests alternating with Mediterranean garrigue and macchia.

From our holiday flat, located just outside the village of Talamone, I was able to start the short circular hike to the Punta del Corvo viewpoint directly. I simply had to book a day ticket for the tour online and carry the electronic proof on my mobile phone (in case of a check by a ranger).

I set off at sunrise in the fresh morning air. A short climb led up to the ridge above the last holiday homes in Talamone and past old casemates. The panorama in the clear, autumnal air is impressive and stretches from the Monte Argentario peninsula in the south to Castiglione della Pescaia in the north. Giglio and other small islands of the Tuscan Archipelago could also be clearly seen out at sea.

I was on my own the whole time, apart from a brief encounter with one or more wild boars, whose grunting could be heard right next to the path in the bushes, which quickly made me keep my distance.