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Costa degli Etruschi Tourist Information Office
Note: A visit to the park may last from a minimum of 2 or 3 hours to a whole day. Entrance to the park includes guided tours of the various areas which are held at set times (information at the ticket office). The Rocca di San Silvestro, without doubt one of the most fascinating sites, can be reached on foot from the ticket office or on the train through the Lanzi - Temperino tunnel. It takes about 20 minutes on foot from the ticket office to Earle Shaft where the train leaves, and another 20 minutes should be allowed to reach the Rocca di San Silvestro from the Lanzi Valley train stop. Practical, casual clothes are recommended: hiking boots, a hat in the summer months, and there should always be a windproof jacket and a water bottle in your rucksack. The temperature inside the mines is a constant 14°C all year round.
Park opening times and days: from 10.00am to dusk. From June to September the park is open from Tuesday to Sunday; in July and August it is also open on Mondays. From March to May the park is open at weekends and on bank holidays, and for booked visits by groups and schools. It is advisable to contact the Booking Office for information during the winter Contacts: Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro, Via di San Vincenzo 34/b, Campiglia Marittima (LI); tel. 0586.838680. For information about guided tours and bookings, contact “Parchi Val di Cornia” tel. 0565/226445, www.parchivaldicornia.it . You can plan your journey through the park to suit yourself and your particular inclination.
The area offers archeological and mine walks or nature walks, hiking trails, guided visits and educational experimental archeological workshops for children and adults, the chance to learn about life in a medieval village or explore a mine. The latest additions to the park are a restructured 20th-century mine tunnel where visitors can ride a mine train between the Temperino and Lanzi Valleys. The Earle Shaft service buildings, built between the 19th and 20th centuries, have also been renovated and opened to visitors and house a mine machinery and social history museum.
Here are some recommended tours and itineraries:
- Via del Temperino (20 minutes)
An easy route that starts at the Temperino Mine exit and ends at the Archeological and Mineral Museum. For most of the way the path retraces the route taken by the railway that transported mineral ore in the early years of the 20th century. Points of interest are: Gowett Shaft, Fernet-Marchi Shaft, Etruscan Mine. Leopoldo Shaft, Gran Cava.
- Via delle Ferruzze (approx. 1 hour)
This is the backbone of the Park and leads from the Temperino Mine to the Lanzi Valley and the Rocca San Silvestro. The route takes in all the main archeological and mining features of the area and takes its name from the small accumulations of iron ore excavated during the ‘40s. One of the more interesting solutions is to make the outward journey on the mine train and come back on foot along the hiking trail.
- Via dei Lanzi (a good hour)
This circular itinerary through a fascinating landscape starts and ends at the Lanzi Washing Plant. The route passes medieval shafts, remains from the time of the Medici and the imposing plant of the English-owned Etruscan Mine Company. Not far away are the Palazzo Gowett Hostel and the Villa Lanzi Documentation Center. The name “Lanzi” comes from the Tyrolean miners who were active here during the sixteenth century.
- The Manienti Route (45 minutes)
This route leads to the Rocca di San Silvestro and starts at the bridge over the quarry road and ends in the valley near a medieval mine. The Rocca is an extraordinary example of a medieval village whose inhabitants were employed in the mining and processing of copper, lead and silver; it was founded in the tenth century by Pisa’s noble Della Gherardesca family to house the mine workers.
Note: A visit to the park may last from a minimum of 2 or 3 hours to a whole day. Entrance to the park includes guided tours of the various areas which are held at set times (information at the ticket office). The Rocca di San Silvestro, without doubt one of the most fascinating sites, can be reached on foot from the ticket office or on the train through the Lanzi - Temperino tunnel. It takes about 20 minutes on foot from the ticket office to Earle Shaft where the train leaves, and another 20 minutes should be allowed to reach the Rocca di San Silvestro from the Lanzi Valley train stop. Practical, casual clothes are recommended: hiking boots, a hat in the summer months, and there should always be a windproof jacket and a water bottle in your rucksack. The temperature inside the mines is a constant 14°C all year round.
Park opening times and days: from 10.00am to dusk. From June to September the park is open from Tuesday to Sunday; in July and August it is also open on Mondays. From March to May the park is open at weekends and on bank holidays, and for booked visits by groups and schools. It is advisable to contact the Booking Office for information during the winter Contacts: Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro, Via di San Vincenzo 34/b, Campiglia Marittima (LI); tel. 0586.838680. For information about guided tours and bookings, contact “Parchi Val di Cornia” tel. 0565/226445, www.parchivaldicornia.it . You can plan your journey through the park to suit yourself and your particular inclination.
The area offers archeological and mine walks or nature walks, hiking trails, guided visits and educational experimental archeological workshops for children and adults, the chance to learn about life in a medieval village or explore a mine. The latest additions to the park are a restructured 20th-century mine tunnel where visitors can ride a mine train between the Temperino and Lanzi Valleys. The Earle Shaft service buildings, built between the 19th and 20th centuries, have also been renovated and opened to visitors and house a mine machinery and social history museum.
Here are some recommended tours and itineraries:
- Via del Temperino (20 minutes)
An easy route that starts at the Temperino Mine exit and ends at the Archeological and Mineral Museum. For most of the way the path retraces the route taken by the railway that transported mineral ore in the early years of the 20th century. Points of interest are: Gowett Shaft, Fernet-Marchi Shaft, Etruscan Mine. Leopoldo Shaft, Gran Cava.
- Via delle Ferruzze (approx. 1 hour)
This is the backbone of the Park and leads from the Temperino Mine to the Lanzi Valley and the Rocca San Silvestro. The route takes in all the main archeological and mining features of the area and takes its name from the small accumulations of iron ore excavated during the ‘40s. One of the more interesting solutions is to make the outward journey on the mine train and come back on foot along the hiking trail.
- Via dei Lanzi (a good hour)
This circular itinerary through a fascinating landscape starts and ends at the Lanzi Washing Plant. The route passes medieval shafts, remains from the time of the Medici and the imposing plant of the English-owned Etruscan Mine Company. Not far away are the Palazzo Gowett Hostel and the Villa Lanzi Documentation Center. The name “Lanzi” comes from the Tyrolean miners who were active here during the sixteenth century.
- The Manienti Route (45 minutes)
This route leads to the Rocca di San Silvestro and starts at the bridge over the quarry road and ends in the valley near a medieval mine. The Rocca is an extraordinary example of a medieval village whose inhabitants were employed in the mining and processing of copper, lead and silver; it was founded in the tenth century by Pisa’s noble Della Gherardesca family to house the mine workers.
The Park Museums:
1) Archeology and minerals: situated at the Park entrance, it offers a variety of information about the area’s history and geology. On display are finds from the San Silvestro medieval village and a large collection of mineral ore from the area; there is also a bookshop and educational and informative material.
2) Temperino Mine: A 360m walk through a modern mine tunnel revealing evidence of ancient mining activities and showing how extraction techniques evolved from the Etruscan era to modern day.
