White Beaches of Rosignano

Proceeding south from Rosignano Solvay on the old Aurelia, after 1-2 km you will reach a traffic light at the intersection with two minor roads: via Polveroni on the left and via di Pietrabianca on the right. Following the latter for less than 1 km, you arrive at the White Beaches of Vada. The road can be covered on foot and by bike (pay attention to the sandy bottom in the final stretch). Cars can be left in the large paid parking lot near the intersection. The small road then continues along the sea towards the south to Vada, where it finds a cycle path that reaches almost as far as Marina di Cecina.

The much-famous "Spiagge Bianche" (White Beaches) to the north and south of the river Fine between the towns of Rosignano Solvay and Vada (province of Livorno) are well known and frequented by Italian and foreign tourists for a characteristic that makes them similar to other famous beaches in Italy such as the one. of Stintino in Sardinia or even to the beaches of the Maldives or the Caribbean: a fine, almost blinding white sand and a crystalline sea of ​​an iridescent color from emerald green to cobalt blue.
The fact is that all this is not the work of Mother Nature, but of man: it is the consequence of the discharges into the sea of ​​the nearby Solvay industrial plant, which would contain poisons of all kinds, from arsenic, to mercury, to ammonia. , cadmium ...
In 1999, UNEP (the United Nations environmental control program) classified this area as one of the most polluted in Italy. Solvay, on the other hand, denies any wrongdoing, arguing that the situation has greatly improved in recent years and that bathing is completely safe. ARPAT (Tuscany Regional Agency for Environmental Protection), comparing the data provided by Solvay itself with those detected by ARPAT and ministerial controls, has indeed noticed some discrepancies, but has substantially confirmed that safety limits have not been exceeded.

The road is partly off-limits to motor vehicles, it is quite shady, but in some places the sand, earth or water can cover the road surface and create inconvenience for bikes with smooth tires. There are no fountains, but before reaching the large beach there is a kiosk selling drinks and food