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Territory · Costa degli Etruschi

Campiglia Marittima

A medieval hilltop borough suspended between sea and hills, at the heart of the Etruscan Coast. Thermal springs, mining archaeology and one of Tuscany's most technical bike areas — this is where the Tuscany Trail calls home.

★ The Tuscany Trail starts here

Sleep at the start of the Tuscany Trail

The map is centred on the Fiere di Venturina, where thousands of riders roll out for the Tuscany Trail every year. Everything you see is bookable — move the map to explore the rest of the territory.

Everything on the map is bookable.

What to see

A typical day: breakfast in the borough, the Rocca and historic centre, a local lunch, then the Thermal Baths or the Parco Archeominerario in the afternoon. Riders: Bike Area Monte Calvi and the trails through the Parco.

The medieval borough

The medieval borough

Piazza della Repubblica, narrow alleyways and hidden corners. Every August, Apritiborgo — an international theatre festival — turns the streets into an open-air stage.

Rocca di Campiglia

Rocca di Campiglia

XII-century fortress commanding the valley, with panoramic views stretching all the way to the Tuscan Archipelago.

Pieve di San Giovanni & Palazzo Pretorio

Pieve di San Giovanni & Palazzo Pretorio

A XII-century Romanesque church in local stone, and the 14th-century Palazzo Pretorio with its row of podestà coats of arms carved into the facade.

Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro

Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro

Copper, lead and silver mines, a medieval mining village and the Miner's Museum. Inside the park: a bike park with cross, enduro and downhill trails.

Terme del Calidario — Venturina

Terme del Calidario — Venturina

Natural thermal waters at 36°C and a Silence Area for meditation and nature — just minutes from the borough.

Bike Area Monte Calvi

Bike Area Monte Calvi

Forty-three mountain bike trails and eleven access roads on the slopes above the borough, from flowing berms to steep enduro singletrack, dug and maintained by the local riding association.

Campiglia Marittima

From the Cycling in Tuscany magazine.

The medieval borough

Piazza della Repubblica, alleyways and hidden corners of one of the most striking towns on the Etruscan Coast.

Rocca di Campiglia

The medieval fortress dominates the valley, with views stretching all the way to the Tuscan Archipelago.

Parco Archeominerario

Mines, museum and bike park: one of the strongest, most tangible stories in the area.

Thermal springs & wellness

Terme del Calidario is the perfect complement to a day on the bike.

Editorial content from the Cycling in Tuscany magazine.

Read before you ride

What the Journal says about Campiglia Marittima, in short. The full stories are one tap away.

From the Journal

Campiglia Marittima by Bike: Where the Tuscany Trail Begins

Campiglia Marittima is a medieval hilltop village in the Val di Cornia, in the province of Livorno, suspended between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the hills. Every May it is the start of the Tuscany Trail, the world's largest gravel and bikepacking event. From the village, road riders climb quiet roads to Suvereto, Sassetta and Massa Marittima, gravel riders roll on gravel roads among vineyards and olive groves, and mountain bikers ride Monte Calvi, right behind the walls.

The short version: facts and questions
Where
Medieval hilltop village in the Val di Cornia, province of Livorno, looking over the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Piombino promontory
Tuscany Trail
The start, every May: thousands of riders from all over the world
Road
Quiet secondary roads to Suvereto, Sassetta, Monterotondo Marittimo and Massa Marittima
Gravel
Gravel roads among vineyards, olive groves and Mediterranean woodland

Where does the Tuscany Trail start? In Campiglia Marittima, a medieval hilltop village in the Val di Cornia, on the Tuscan coast. Every May its usually quiet streets fill with thousands of cyclists from all over the world for the start of the Tuscany Trail, the world's largest gravel and bikepacking event.

Is the Tuscany Trail a race? No. There are no rankings or prizes, only a GPS track, a bike, and the will to cross Tuscany from coast to coast, riding independently, choosing each evening where to stop, and following the rhythm of the sun.

What kind of cycling is there around Campiglia Marittima? All three kinds. Road cyclists find quiet, scenic secondary roads climbing through Suvereto, Sassetta and Monterotondo Marittimo up to Massa Marittima. Gravel and bikepacking riders find gravel roads among vineyards, olive groves and Mediterranean woodland. Mountain bikers and enduro riders have Monte Calvi, the hill just behind the village.

Read the full piece →

The stories behind the sights

From the official Campiglia Marittima guide — the depth that makes this borough worth more than a photo stop.

A thousand years of mining

The San Silvestro mines have yielded copper, lead and silver for over a millennium, feeding medieval Europe's hunger for metals. Today the Temperino tour takes you underground into a real mine, the restored miners' village shows daily life as it was, and two museums cover the archaeology and the machines.

Waters the Etruscans knew

The Calidario thermal springs flow naturally at 36 °C, known since Etruscan and Roman times. Around the open-air thermal lake you'll find massages, thermal muds and saunas — and near the Tufaia ponds, the Area del Silenzio, a garden designed for meditation and slowing down.

The Rocca and the pirate coast

The 12th-century fortress was built to defend the borough from Saracen pirate raids along the Tyrrhenian coast. Its walls and towers still command the valley, with a panorama stretching to the Tuscan Archipelago that alone is worth the climb. Visits can be booked through the Parchi Val di Cornia.

Palazzo Pretorio and the podestà

Seat of local government since the 14th century, its austere facade is studded with the coats of arms of the Florentine podestà who ruled the borough between the 15th and 17th centuries. Today it hosts exhibitions and cultural events.

Plan your visit

The practical layer — getting here, one perfect day, and who to call.

Getting there

By car, leave the SS1 Aurelia at the Venturina Terme exit and follow the signs uphill to the borough. By train, Campiglia Marittima station sits on the Pisa–Rome line with connections from Pisa and Florence airports.

One perfect day

Breakfast outdoors in a bar of the borough, then the Rocca while the light is still low. Lunch among the alleys, an afternoon guided tour of the Temperino mine and the miners' village, and a sunset soak in the thermal lake to close the loop.

Guided tours

The Parco Archeominerario runs guided tours year-round, in several languages, with special events and workshops for groups and families. The tourist office in Via Cavour (0565 838470) helps with bookings and tailored itineraries.

A walk of oil and wine

From the restored Fonte Corboli washhouse, with the valley and the sea on the horizon, a food-and-wine trail links olive groves, vineyards and organic farms around the borough — the slow-day alternative when the bike rests.

For riders

Why Campiglia is the technical heart of the Tuscany Trail territory.

Bike Area Monte Calvi

Run with passion by the Sdegnetors ASD, the trail network on Monte Calvi grades from flowing lines with shaped berms and small jumps up to black enduro singletrack that demands precision and courage — with views from the Archipelago to the inland hills the whole way.

One riding playground

Gravel roads through vineyards and olive groves, the trails of the mining park and the Monte Calvi bike area are all within a few kilometres of the borough: gravel, road and mountain bike in one place.

Monte Calvi Trail Area

The mountain bike side of Campiglia — a different bike from the one this site usually talks about.

Bring a mountain bike

This is gravity terrain built by an enduro club, not a gravel network. The lines run from flowing berms to steep technical singletrack, and most of them ask for a full mountain bike. Trailforks does flag 22 of the trails as gravel-rideable and 50 as e-bike friendly, so a lighter setup is not shut out — but the heart of this place is mountain biking, and it rewards arriving with the right bike rather than the one you packed for the gravel roads.

You start from the square

The trailhead car park sits about 200 metres from Piazza della Repubblica, which makes this the rare trail area you reach on foot from the village. From there the network climbs the slopes of Monte Calvi, with the bulk of it around three and a half kilometres north of the borough and the highest trailhead at 634 metres.

What the numbers say

Forty-three graded trails plus eleven access roads, 76 kilometres in all, and 4,146 metres of descent across the whole area. Grading follows the UK and European system — 8 white, 17 green, 11 blue, 6 red and a single black, with the access roads linking them together. That spread is the character of the place, a network built for progression rather than for extremes.

Who builds and looks after it

ASD Sdegnetors MTB Clan, the local riding association, digs and maintains these trails. Trail conditions and closures are posted by them on the map below, so a look before you ride is worth the minute it takes. If the area gives you a good day, the club is who to thank.

Mountain biking · Monte Calvi

The trails of Monte Calvi, live from Trailforks

The singletrack network on the slopes above the borough, mapped and kept current by the riders who build it. Move the map to explore, tap a line to read its grade and its condition.

Grades, conditions and closures come straight from the local riders, so this map stays truer than anything we could copy across. Open the full area on Trailforks →

Stay near Campiglia Marittima

The booking map at the top of this page shows every stay in the area — no need to leave the site.

See the booking map ↑

Useful links

Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro →Opening hours & tickets — Parchi Val di Cornia →

Contacts & materials

  • Tourist Office: 0565 838470 — Via Cavour
  • Town Hall: 0565 839111 — Via Roma 5