Versiliana Park Coastal Walk

The Versiliana Park is Versilia's lungs — 78 hectares of ancient maritime pine forest stretching along the coast between Marina di Pietrasanta and Marina di Ronchi. The park's shaded paths offer the most accessible and most beautiful easy walking in the entire region: completely flat, entirely shaded (important in Versilian summers), and full of the smell of pine resin and sea salt. The park was beloved by Gabriele D'Annunzio, the poet and adventurer, who spent summers here. The ancient pines are enormous — some 50 metres tall — their canopies forming a cathedral roof above the sandy paths. In the August heat, when the beaches are packed and the coastal towns swelter, the Versiliana park is 5°C cooler and entirely peaceful. The circular walk described here follows the perimeter of the park, touching the beachfront at its seaward edge — where the pines thin and the sea appears — before returning through the forest interior. At the heart of the park, the Teatro della Versiliana (an open-air amphitheatre used for summer cultural performances) is worth a visit even when no show is running.