WWF Italia

Background

Of worldwide renown, Talamone is a quaint historic Tuscan village situated on a rocky promontory on the southern end of the Monti dell’Uccellina in the Parco Naturale della Maremma (Maremma Nature Reserve).  

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An ancient and flourishing city already during the Etruscan period, which saw a decisive battle in 225 BC between Roman and the Celtic hordes who were heading for Rome.

In the Middle Ages Talamone was important as the trading and military port for the city of Siena. In 1559 the territory was ceded to Spain also joining the State of Presidi (The state of garrisons). 

The port town was also a stage during Admiral Horatio Nelson’s expedition to Egypt, which left in 1798 from Toulon to Naples, stopping at "la rade de Tagliamon sur les côtes de Toscane"  just as Napoleon Bonaparte written in his Memoirs.

But the city's name is linked to Giuseppe Garibaldi and his thousand soldiers in 1860. When Talamone was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, he made a stop there to stock up on water and weapons.

A new marina development plan threatens Talamone Bay

Orbetello Local Authority plans to replace the existing facilities and infrastructure with a new marina able to accommodate pleasure craft including large luxury yachts.  This new marina is a threat to an area considered by the Italian Ministry of Culture (Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali) to be of particular interest as it is today one of the very few surviving examples of farmland reclaimed from the Maremma (a large area of southern Tuscany) marshes in the 1800s.  

Moreover, one of Tuscany's most extensive underwater Posidonia oceanica meadows lies off the coast of Talamone.  Posidonia oceanica is a type of seagrass considered to play an important role in maintaining the quality of the sea.  In fact, this is why serious consideration is being given to expanding the Maremma Nature Reserve to include the stretch of sea off its shore.

In the words of Marcello Demi, WWF Regional President: “Instead of creating a marina which will spoil Talamone both on-shore and off-shore, we propose the following measures: urgent maintenance work on the 19th century canal, improving the seashore and enriching it with indigenous Mediterranian plants, creating pedestrian and cycle paths and investing in an efficient system of rubbish and waste collection including used engine oil.”

THE REPERCUSSIONS OF A NEW MARINA:

Environmental

The 500 metres of new jetty will damage the underwater meadows of posidonia, currently classified as endangered due to human activity including navigation, and climate change.  They are in particular danger off the entire Italian coastline including Tuscany.  These posidonia meadows are fundamental for many species of fish, which in turn are important for both environmental and commercial reasons.  A further threat to the posidonia meadows comes from repositioning of the drainage canal – the rainwater will carry with it both chemical substances from local agriculture and quantities of earth and soil.

Landscape

The surrounding countryside will suffer enormously from the devastation of this important stretch of coast and the new roads which will cross the reclaimed land. The new marina will become the main attraction, detracting from and definitively damaging the typical land- and seascape of the area.

Urban and Social

-The construction of 50,000 cubic metres of hotels, housing and storage facilities, with all the consequent urban growth including the intolerable increase in road traffic, will have an enormous negative impact on both the environmental and social fabric of Talamone.
- The new marina will force the local boats, presently located in the existing harbour, to find moorage elsewhere.
- The increase in seafaring visitors may have a knock-on destabilising effect on the Maremma Nature Reserve due to the influx of tourists.

According to the Tuscan WWF president: “We are still in time to rethink the development of Talamone and to proceed in a way compatible with both the naturalistic and historic importance of the area.  It is crucial, however, to intervene now while discussions at local level are going on.  Once approved it will be much harder to block the new marina.  We trust that Orbetello Local Authority, as administrators of Talamone, will heed the voices raised in defence of its natural and environmental splendour and will respect this Tuscan town’s history and natural beauty by not proceeding with this development which would compromise the internationally famous cultural heritage for the sake of a few exclusive beneficiaries.”

WWF proposals for Talamone (in italian) >>

What you can do

You can help us!  Send an email with Passport to Altero Matteoli, the Mayor of Orbetello Local Authority, urging him to reconsider the intention to expand the Talamone marina on the edge of the Maremma Nature Reserve.

SAVE TALAMONE BAY,  TAKE ACTION  >>