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Alberese is a little village located at the border of the “Parco Naturale della Maremma”. Here you can find one of the information-office of the Maremma Nature Park (the other one being at Talamone), and from here you can start some fauna and forest footpaths in one of the wildest and most intact land in Italy.
Founded in 1975, the Maremma Nature Park covers over 9.800 hectares. The fascination of the Park lies in the diversity of its environments: the plain as far as the mouth of the Ombrone river, splendid pinewoods and the steep ridge of Monti dell’Uccellina, which culminates in the 417 metres of Poggio Lecci. Covered with dense mediterranean thicket, the high ground of the Park is the home of wild boar, fallow deer, porcupines and many other small animals. You can find rare birds such as the “Black-winged Stilt” and the “Mallard” as well as all types of migratory birds. Horses and Maremman cattle can also be seen. The beaches still maintain a wild and natural fascination; from Principina a Mare and Alberese to Cala di Forno the coast is a long line of beaches, with many stretches of untouched dunes covered in white lillies and other plants.
The area was inhabited in the remote past as demonstrated by the prehistoric finds uncovered in a number of caves. An Etruscan settlement has been located at the port in Talamone, while the Roman presence is documented by the ruins of the Ponte del Diavolo and the remains of a villa. Very important remains are the watch towers built during the period of Sienese dominion as a defence against Saracens. The Abbey of San Rabano is no doubt the most amazing monument in the area; founded by the Benedectines in the 11th century, is a fine example of Romanesque architecture inserted into the splendid natural context.
One can arrive at the centre of the protected area in teh park minibus that connects the town of Alberese with the village of Pratini.
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