Bolgheri

As Fulco Pratesi (Italy's World Wildlife Fund president) wrote in 1984:
" In the beginning there was Bolgheri. Then came Italian WWF."
In 1959 Mario Incisa della Rocchetta made the decision to turn 60 hectares of wetlands and the surrounding 453 hectares of pasture and farmland into Italy’s first private bird sanctuary. In 1966 it became Italy’s first bird sanctuary along with the Oasi of Burano. That same year, the Marquis Incisa, with Fulco Pratesi, founded the Italian WWF. In 1977 the Oasi di Bolgheri was designated a “Ramsar Site”, which is a wetland of international importance

As WWF’s first Italian President, the Marquis Incisa invited HRH Philip the Duke of Edinburgh to pay a visit to the Oasi di Bolgheri

Characteristics and vegetation
The Bolgheri Natural Refuge lies between the Thyrrenean Railway and the Mediterranean Sea, covering 513 hectares. It preserves the centuries-old typical landscape of the Maremma coastline (Tuscany’s southern coast), including pastures, wooded hedges, farmland and fields flooded in winter. Adjacent to the Refuge are fresh-water ponds surrounded by swamps of Narrow-leafed Ash (Fraxinus angustifolia), which give this environment its unique character
The coastal dune-wood separates the ponds from the extraordinarily beautiful beach, where pioneer species such as the Sea Lilly, the Sea Daffodil (Pancratium Maritimum), Sea Holly (Eryngium Maritimum) and Sea Rocket (Cakile Maritima) dominate

Birds
This Refuge is perhaps best known for the importance of its wintering and migrating waterfowl. Ducks can be found in great numbers in the winter, and include Mallards, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Pintail and the Shoveler. The species that arrives in greatest numbers in winter is the Lapwing – up to 1,800 birds. The rare Golden Plover can often be seen with
them. Snipes are also present in good numbers..
In the spring, Garganeys arrive, and they are joined by many other species during the annual migration to the northern European breeding grounds. Among these, the most frequent waders are the Ruff, the Spotted Redshank, the Redshank, the Wood Sandpiper, the Black-Winged Stilt and the Avocet. Some of the rare visitors are the Purple Heron, the Bittern and the Little Bittern. Nesting birds include the Great Reed Warbler, the Swallow, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, the Wryneck and the Short-Toed Treecreeper. Remarkably, the Roller has appeared, and had its first nesting in 1999

Mammals
Mammal species abound, including the Roe Deer, the Fallow Deer, the Wild Boar, the Porcupine and Fox.

Reptiles
Among the reptiles is the Marsh Tortoise, which has become very rare in Western Europe’s fresh waters, but is still present in the Bolgheri Natural Refuge.

Visits
Visits to Oasi di Bolgheri are by appointment only; arrangements can be made by contacting the WWF in Piombino either by telephone or fax at (0565) 22.43.61, or by e-mail at wwfpiomb@tin.it . The Oasi is open for appointments from October 15th to April 15th, on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month
Riding north on the Via Aurelia (early 1900)
near the Viale di Bolgheri.
At the point where the Via Aurelia meets the Viale di Bolgheri is a circle of cypresses surrounding the obelisk that Giuseppe della Gherardesca erected for Nobel prize winner Giosuè Carducci. Beyond the obelisk is the church of San Guido, built by Simone Maria della Gherardesca at the beginning of the 18th Century that lends its name to the Sassicaia estate. The Viale di Bolgheri is lined with cypresses, and runs through the heart of the Tenuta San Guido estate to the castle and village center of Bolgheri.
Tenuta San Guido is an estate of about 2500 hectares, whose most important feature is its diversity of purpose. Less than one fortieth of its surface is devoted to winemaking, while two-thirds of the total is woodland.