Castellina Marittima – Hiking Trails, Alabaster and Wine

Castellina Marittima combines a vast hilly landscape with hiking trails, a history of alabaster and a cuisine shaped by rural traditions. If you would like to combine culture, landscapes and regional products on your trip to Tuscany, you will find a wide range of points of interest here: circular trails begin in the town center, viewpoints open up vistas as far as the Tuscan Archipelago, and historic sites tell stories of churches, fortresses and the extraction of “Bianco di Castellina”.

Hiking and Panoramic Views

The Percorsi Verdi of Castellina Marittima comprise around 20 kilometers of well-signposted circular trails. They begin in the town’s main square and lead to viewpoints overlooking the Gulf of Baratti, the Piombino promontory, the Tuscan Archipelago, the plain of Pisa and the Apuan Alps. For orientation, the municipality provides printable hiking maps, detailed information on the individual trails, as well as GPX and KML tracks. A dedicated viewpoint is Sassi Bianchi. From there, you can see the Apuan Alps and the Tuscan Archipelago. Le Cave di Piero complements the landscape experience with a public nature area featuring tables, benches and barbecue facilities. This means that visitors can choose between circular trails with panoramic views and a clearly equipped nature area, without the two experiences offering the same thing.

Churches, Fortress and Alabaster

Among the notable sights in the town is the Romanesque Church of San Giovanni Battista. The remains of the ancient fortress of Castellina Marittima are also considered a noteworthy site. The ancient Pieve di San Giovanni Decollato is likewise one of the municipality’s historic buildings. A particularly distinctive cultural legacy is alabaster. The extraction of “Bianco di Castellina” is part of Castellina Marittima’s historical heritage. The central museum site of the Ecomuseo dell'Alabastro houses archival materials on alabaster extraction methods. The Ecomuseo dell'Alabastro is a multi-site museum offering that encompasses Castellina Marittima, Santa Luce and Volterra. In addition, “L'arco e il tempo” leads along an approximately one-kilometer-long, equipped woodland trail through stations devoted to human evolution and combines this with the opportunity to try traditional archery.

Olives, Wine and Rural Cuisine

The landscape is characterized by hills cultivated with olive trees, grapevines and grain, rows of cypresses and lush Mediterranean maquis. Olives are grown and oil is produced in Castellina Marittima. At Tenuta del [Terriccio](Terriccio), 12,000 olive trees of the Frantoio, Moraiolo, Maurina and Rosciola varieties are cultivated using organic farming methods across 50 hectares. The cuisine also reflects the history of the town. It is rooted in the rural tradition of the so-called “cucina povera”, which is connected with the lives of the alabaster quarry workers. Numerous wineries producing high-quality wines helped Castellina Marittima become part of the Strada del vino Costa degli Etruschi. Thus, alongside the trails and historic buildings, olive oil, wine and traditional everyday cuisine also embody the character of the town.

More destinations for your Tuscany research

Other places in this selection include [Calci](Calci), [Navacchio](Navacchio), [Santa Luce](Santa Luce), [Ponsacco](Ponsacco), [Monteverdi Marittimo](Monteverdi Marittimo), [Montopoli In Val D'arno](Montopoli In Val D'arno) and [Guardistallo](Guardistallo).

To the main travel overview: Pisa.