Peace, openness, and bird song – Days on Monte Argentario

Since yesterday, we have been guests at Ciro Park in La Costa di Feniglia – a campsite for around 80 motorhomes. Currently, there are only five vehicles here, ours included. This means: endless space. It is so quiet that we initially had trouble falling asleep without the now almost familiar traffic noise from the past days.

But after the big city adventure in Siena, this is exactly what we need. La Costa di Feniglia – these are a few scattered houses on the Monte Argentario peninsula, right in the south of Tuscany. It is connected to the mainland by three land bridges but was once an island. Only over the centuries did a river bring mud, sand, and gravel, creating two lagoons: the Tombolo della Giannella and the Tombolo della Feniglia. The latter is now a protected area and is completely closed to vehicles.

We chose Monte Argentario for two reasons: Firstly, the weather is expected to be particularly nice here in the coming week – the last of our Tuscany tour. Secondly, the island is known for its beaches and the azure blue sea. And: There is no mass tourism here. The authorities take nature conservation very seriously. Today, we even discovered a police station in the middle of a pine forest, in front of which four patrol cars were parked.

The few tourists are, by the way, one reason why wealthy Italians like to invest in a smaller or larger holiday home with a private beach here.

Tomorrow we want to explore the six-kilometer-long nature reserve, where many bird species are currently resting on their way south. In the coming days, Porto Ercole and Santo Stefano are also on our agenda. But first, we’re heading to Orbetello on Saturday. Why? What a question … of course, it's because of the weekly market.