Few steps from a beautiful UNESCO Geopark

Il Boschetto and Follonica are located within the National Park of Colline Metallifere – Tuscan Mining UNESCO Geopark.

The park was established in 2002 by a decree of the Ministry of the Environment and has been part of the prestigious UNESCO Geoparks network since 2010.

The park’s territory encompasses 7 municipalities in the province of Grosseto:

• Follonica
• Gavorrano
• Scarlino
• Massa Marittima
• Monterotondo Marittimo
• Montieri
• Roccastrada

In 2022, portions of the territories of Pomarance and Castelnuovo in the Val di Cecina (province of Pisa) and Radicondoli (Si) were added.

The park covers approximately 120,000 hectares, featuring a vast landscape stretching from the marvelous Gulf of Follonica. It reaches the internal reliefs at about 1000 meters between Cornate di Gerfalco and Poggio di Montieri, crossing untouched marshes, hills, forests, and Mediterranean scrub.

It is a territory that narrates a mining history of 5000 years and 300 million years of Earth’s history.

Archaeological evidence attests to the first mineral extraction activities in the Bronze Age (3000 years before Christ), spanning through the Etruscan period, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the 1700s, the 1800s, to the last Pyrite mines closed in 1996.

34 visitable mining sites, many of which are museum-like, such as the Mining Museum in the Gavorrano gallery, the Ravi Marchi mine, or the Subterranean Pole in Massa Marittima.

41 Geosites, places where geology is particularly surprising and unique.

From the fascinating red breccia quarries of Caldana to the medieval silver mines of Poggio Mutti (Gerfalco), from the blossoms of wild orchids in the cavernous limestone of Monte Calvo to the unexpected and spectacular geothermal manifestations in the area of the Biancane of Monterotondo Marittimo and the Devil’s Valley of Larderello.

18 park entrances where guides, experts, and operators await you, distributed in numerous museums, visitor centers, and tourist information points throughout the park’s territory.

The park has been certified with the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism since 2013, and Il Boschetto is a CETS Phase II certified activity.

Discover more about eco-touristic activities, meaning those with a certified low environmental impact by the park, here: link

Learn more about the PARK at www.parcocollinemetallifere.it