Parks and museums without barriers in Val di Cornia, Tuscany

The Val di Cornia, the last southern part of the Etruscan Coast in Livorno province is a strip of land opposite to the Island of Elba, behind the city of Piombino.
Its development, over the last century, was almost exclusively related to the iron and steel industry.
The 1990s industrial crisis demanded a rapid diversification of the area’s economy. The archaeological and natural heritage was at that moment seen as a “resource” to sustain the development of a non-invasive tourism.
Coordinated urban plans defined the areas to be protected going beyond the legal concepts of cultural and landscape heritage, overcoming the administrative borders and interpreting the natural and cultural features of the territory as a unitary common asset.
This land, largely taken away from the ponds and swamps that characterized its coasts until last century, retains now an extraordinary heritage of environmental and cultural testimonies, which make this area an attractive alternative destinations: "Tuscany Minor".
Greater accessibility to the park and museum system has increased the attractiveness and quality of the services offered. Main intertwined components:
3 Archaeological Parks
Castle, Rocca and Museums
4 Coastal Parks and natural Park of Sterpaia
Assets are managed by main stakeholders (local public administrations, private companies (tourism, transport, innovation), environmental and cultural associations, with tourists and resident both beneficiaries.