Spiagge Bianche: the dark side of the Caribbean of Tuscany
Spiagge Bianche are a stretch of
about five kilometers of white sand bathed by beautiful clear waters, in the municipality of Rosignano Marittimo
in Tuscany, between Rosignano Solvay and Vada. A
postcard landscape that attracts many people from all over Tuscany, but also
tourists who have heard of this perfectly instagrammable place.
They
have been nicknamed the "Caribbean
of Tuscany", but what if we told you that all that glitters is not gold?
The
reason why this stretch of beach and its sea have such a beautiful color and
look like a tropical paradise will make you rethink the idea of swimming in
these waters.
The
white beaches are located near the
Solvay plant of Rosignano Solvay, the largest soda plant in Europe, active
since 1914. Since then the plant has
discharged enormous quantities of pollutants into these waters including
sodium carbonate, hydrogen peroxide, polyethylene , calcium chloride, sodium
bicarbonate, hydrochloric acid and mercury, making this place one of the 15
most polluted coastal sites in Italy.
Every
year over 100,000 tons of toxic waste have been poured into the sea through a
drainage channel called the "white ditch" and the bleaching of the
sand is precisely the consequence of these discharges coming back on land with
the undertow.
Since
2010, mercury has no longer been produced by the Solvay plant, however the
release of polluting substances into the sea continues.
Unfortunately,
despite the ban on bathing and parking, people
continue to crowd these beaches,
poorly informed people and others
who know the problem but just don't care.
Too often we turn a blind eye and pretend not to see what is behind the facade
of things because we become weak in the face of beauty.
It
is undeniable that the Spiagge Bianche are truly a unique place and surreal is
to see such a landscape at these latitudes, so it may be worth popping in to
take a few nice shots. Our advice, however, is to limit yourself to taking
pictures and then head to less polluted places to take a dip in the sea.
Tuscany is full of really beautiful beaches, both in appearance and in essence,
just take a ferry from nearby Piombino and in just 1 hour you will find
yourself on the splendid island of Elba.
What’s
important is not to be dazzled by this mirage, appearances are deceiving!