The Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia

Loc. Livorno (Livorno)

Populonia, the only Etruscan city by the sea

Stretching over 80 hectares between the slopes of the promontory of Piombino and the Gulf of Baratti, the park is presented as a real open-air museum, glittering with ferrous slag which show the impressiveness of the industrial Etruscan village. The Park includes a significant part of the ancient town of Populonia, a unique Etruscan settlement  built directly on the sea, with its necropolises, the calcarenite quarries and the industrial working quarters. A network of itineraries links the town’s residential area and its temples to the industrial area and the San Cerbone necropolis with its tumuli and sarcophagus and aedicola tombs (7th – 4th centuries BC) and the Grotte necropolis with its chamber tombs dug into the quarry face (4th – 3rd centuries BC).
As in ancient times, the routes follow the original roads, crossing the woods and the Mediterranean scrub and opening up to unexpected views alternating over the Gulf of Baratti and the Island of Elba. The Experimental Archaeology Centre is located in the lower part of the park.

Read more
(link a: http://www.parchivaldicornia.it/parco.php?lang=eng&code=000&codex=bart-ved )

Facilities: visitor centre, experimental archaeology centre, guided visits, bookshop, parking, refreshment centre/restaurant.