Punta Ala
PUNTA ALA IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCLUSIVE LOCATIONS IN MAREMMA TUSCANY AND ALONG THE TYRRHENIAN COAST. IN WINTER, IT HAS FEW INHABITANTS, BUT IN SUMMER, IT’S VERY POPULATED.
Punta Ala is a beautiful tourist destination in Maremma Tuscany, located at the extreme end of the Gulf of Follonica, a fraction of the municipality of Castiglione della Pescaia, approximately 45 kilometers from the capital city of Grosseto. A renowned sailing location (for years it was the base for the Luna Rossa team), Punta Ala is primarily known for its port, the largest in Maremma with its 14 docks and 1,200 meters of length, providing around 900 boat moorings.
Discovering Punta Ala
THE PORT OF PUNTA ALA
The port, beautifully constructed, represents a successful blend of tourism and environmental conservation. Punta Ala is a green rocky spur, immersed in a vast expanse of fragrant Mediterranean scrubland and cork oak forests that cover the hilly slopes of its promontory. The coast is interspersed with charming bays and inlets: from Torre Civette, which overlooks the Foce dell’Alma from a rocky hill, there’s a long sandy shoreline stretching for kilometers, framed by a dense pine forest. Then, near the promontory, between Punta Hidalgo and Cala di Pozzo, beaches, rocks, and pine groves intermingle. In front of Punta Hidalgo, a series of rocks, known as the “Porcellini” (little pigs), is on display, one of which has the curious shape of a shark fin. Not far away lies the famous island or rock of the Sparviero.
VILLAS, PRIVATE GARDENS, LUXURY, AND UNTOUCHED NATURE, SILENCE AND RELAXATION, UNASSAILABLE PRIVACY MAKE PUNTA ALA AN EXCLUSIVE AND UNIQUE PLACE ON THE MAREMMA COAST
Gino Cervi
Perhaps not everyone knows, but the great actor Gino Cervi, known to all as Giuseppe Bottazzi, the “Peppone” from the famous Don Camillo series, lived for years in Punta Ala in a beautiful apartment in the Gualdo residential complex. He passed away on January 3, 1974.
A Splendid Location on the Tyrrhenian Coast
Over the years, Punta Ala, living on memories of the good times, has seen tourism in all its forms grow, turning this beautiful location into a place worth admiring and fully enjoying. A simple village built by the sea, for the sea and tourism, Punta Ala finds its charm in combining perfect tourist organization with high-level beach and hotel facilities, tennis courts and pools, equestrian sports, including polo, one of the largest golf courses in Europe, with sixty hectares of well-kept grass and perfectly manicured greens (18 holes), set amid the shade of evergreens, harmoniously integrated into the surrounding environment. To reach Punta Ala, you travel along a 9-kilometer road through the Mediterranean Maquis.
The Sparviero Rock (or Islet)
The Sparviero is a rock located in front of Punta Ala and offers many natural wonders, both on the surface and in its still pristine seabeds. The islet, which is one of the main attractions of Punta Ala, is dominated by an ancient circular tower of uncertain date (Tower of Troia Vecchia or degli Appiani) and covered with dense Mediterranean vegetation. Several seagull colonies nest in the area. Lacking tourist facilities and completely uninhabited, it is a highly sought-after destination, especially in the summer season, when numerous boats reach the rock to give the opportunity, to those who desire, to sunbathe, dive into its transparent waters, or explore its underwater treasures.
The Origins of Punta Ala
Punta Ala doesn’t have historical roots. In the mid-twentieth century, it not only didn’t have its current name but also didn’t have a single house or road in the area. It was called Punta Troia, then came Italo Balbo (a well-known minister and general of the fascist regime) who, during one of his frequent flights from Tripoli to Italy, saw the location from above, fell in love with it, and in 1932, he bought the entire area, giving it a name reminiscent of Gabriele D’Annunzio. He renamed it with the name we all know – Punta Ala – and had the Nuova Torre della Troia on the promontory restored to live there (in addition to clearing much of the land and creating a provincial road). This fortification, originally built to replace the ruined Torre dello Sparviero on the islet in front of the promontory, had been commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1560, then enlarged and incorporated into another building by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo, in 1788, and finally adapted into a villa, as the residence of Italo Balbo.
Resources on Punta Ala
- Punta Ala – Wikipedia provides information about the Maremman seaside location, describing its monuments and places of interest.
- Italo Balbo and Punta Ala – The biography of the fascist figure and the history of the birth of Punta Ala.
