The best walks and hikes around Orciano Pisano

The descent after the town of St. Luce is awesome! Good asphalt, nice curves and always full throttle.

Conserve fields and always bring plenty of drinking water

Please take into account that it is very technical and some roads are closed.

Santa Luce is a charming village perched on a hill separating it from the municipality of Chianni, dominated by the blades of wind turbines. The beautiful panorama is complemented by the view of the lake of the same name: it's fascinating despite not being a natural lake, but created about sixty years ago by the Solvay company to supply its plants with water. The lake is elongated, divided into two unequal sections by the road that crosses it. It's not very deep and its water regime depends on seasonal rainfall. However, it is home to a large number of animals, especially birds (some rare in this part of Tuscany, such as ospreys, purple herons, cormorants, mallards, pochards, etc.) that populate its shores among the reeds, scrub, and meadows, so much so that the lake has become a nature reserve managed by the LIPU (Italian League for the Protection of the Italian People's Republic of Italy). The entrance to the LIPU Reserve is located 2 kilometers along the SP 51 - Rosignanina road, between the SR 206 and Santa Luce. You can park your car outside the entrance and then walk to the visitor center, which also has restrooms and a picnic area. It also offers educational activities, guided tours, excursions and birdwatching, workshops and courses, as well as various specific events. https://www.lipu.it/oasi-riserve/riserva-naturale-santa-luce YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCumfLGyj3Zq6OSuRStRyB4Q Open Saturday and Sunday: 8:00 am - 11:00 am / 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Reservations only. Email: riserva.santaluce@lipu.it Tel: +39 3440858799 Website: https://www.riservasantaluce.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lipusantaluce

Beautiful views and white roads in the Tuscan countryside overlooking Lake Santa Luce, a natural oasis.

An 18th-century masterpiece just waiting for you Also known as the Poccianti Aqueduct or the Colognole Aqueduct, this ambitious project, begun in 1793, was conceived by order of Grand Duke Ferdinand III in response to the growing water needs of an expanding Livorno. Thanks to its port, in fact, the city was experiencing a significant population increase. However, it was Leopold II who brought it to completion, inaugurating the work only in 1852. The project of the aqueduct, which supplied water to the city of Livorno from 1816 to 1912 and still serves the neighboring towns, was conceived by the skilled Florentine architect Giuseppe Salvetti, the first to trace the path through the hills of Colognole, where various springs gush generously. Due to his premature death, the work was assigned to the architect Calocchieri and completed by Pasquale Poccianti. The latter in particular left an indelible mark on the structure, creating the three imposing cisterns visible in Livorno: the Cisternone, the Cisternino di Città and the Cisternino di Pian di Rota.

The Santa Luce Oasis, with over 150 species recorded, is an important resting area for migratory birds and each season has its own protagonists. In winter, the lake is populated with multi-coloured ducks such as Pochards, Teals, Mallards, Wigeons, while Cormorants put on a show by sitting on tree branches with their wings spread out to dry in the sun. In summer, the reed beds are populated with small, inconspicuous birds such as the Cetti's Warbler, the Reed Warbler and the Great Reed Warbler, while the typical "flask-shaped" nests of the Penduline Tit sway on the tamarisks and the multi-coloured Bee-eater settles in the upper part of the lake. In the morning, it is easy to encounter the Kestrel and the Buzzard patrolling the fields, or the silhouette of the Marsh Harrier as it flies over the reeds; at night, however, the Barn Owl, the Little Owl and other nocturnal birds of prey come into action. But the most spectacular season remains spring: the flowering hills are the backdrop to the wedding parades of the Great Crested Grebe, which has become the symbol of the Oasis. Migrants also appear on the lake and along its shores, especially herons such as the Night Heron, the Little Egret, the Little Bittern and the Purple Heron. In an ecosystem like that of the lake there is an enormous wealth of life and biological diversity such as elegant dragonflies, colorful painted ladies and other butterflies and the large nocturnal sphinxes. Reptiles and amphibians are also constant presences.

Beautiful views typical of Tuscany and Lake Santa Luce.