The best cycling routes around Santa Luce

The descent after the town of St. Luce is awesome! Good asphalt, nice curves and always full throttle.

Santa Luce is a charming village perched on a hill separating it from the municipality of Chianni, dominated by the blades of wind turbines. The beautiful panorama is complemented by the view of the lake of the same name: it's fascinating despite not being a natural lake, but created about sixty years ago by the Solvay company to supply its plants with water. The lake is elongated, divided into two unequal sections by the road that crosses it. It's not very deep and its water regime depends on seasonal rainfall. However, it is home to a large number of animals, especially birds (some rare in this part of Tuscany, such as ospreys, purple herons, cormorants, mallards, pochards, etc.) that populate its shores among the reeds, scrub, and meadows, so much so that the lake has become a nature reserve managed by the LIPU (Italian League for the Protection of the Italian People's Republic of Italy). The entrance to the LIPU Reserve is located 2 kilometers along the SP 51 - Rosignanina road, between the SR 206 and Santa Luce. You can park your car outside the entrance and then walk to the visitor center, which also has restrooms and a picnic area. It also offers educational activities, guided tours, excursions and birdwatching, workshops and courses, as well as various specific events. https://www.lipu.it/oasi-riserve/riserva-naturale-santa-luce YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCumfLGyj3Zq6OSuRStRyB4Q Open Saturday and Sunday: 8:00 am - 11:00 am / 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Reservations only. Email: riserva.santaluce@lipu.it Tel: +39 3440858799 Website: https://www.riservasantaluce.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lipusantaluce

Beautiful views and white roads in the Tuscan countryside overlooking Lake Santa Luce, a natural oasis.

Beautiful places and roads immersed in the typical Tuscan landscape

Typical places and views of Tuscany

The Santa Luce Oasis, with over 150 species recorded, is an important resting area for migratory birds and each season has its own protagonists. In winter, the lake is populated with multi-coloured ducks such as Pochards, Teals, Mallards, Wigeons, while Cormorants put on a show by sitting on tree branches with their wings spread out to dry in the sun. In summer, the reed beds are populated with small, inconspicuous birds such as the Cetti's Warbler, the Reed Warbler and the Great Reed Warbler, while the typical "flask-shaped" nests of the Penduline Tit sway on the tamarisks and the multi-coloured Bee-eater settles in the upper part of the lake. In the morning, it is easy to encounter the Kestrel and the Buzzard patrolling the fields, or the silhouette of the Marsh Harrier as it flies over the reeds; at night, however, the Barn Owl, the Little Owl and other nocturnal birds of prey come into action. But the most spectacular season remains spring: the flowering hills are the backdrop to the wedding parades of the Great Crested Grebe, which has become the symbol of the Oasis. Migrants also appear on the lake and along its shores, especially herons such as the Night Heron, the Little Egret, the Little Bittern and the Purple Heron. In an ecosystem like that of the lake there is an enormous wealth of life and biological diversity such as elegant dragonflies, colorful painted ladies and other butterflies and the large nocturnal sphinxes. Reptiles and amphibians are also constant presences.

Beautiful views typical of Tuscany and Lake Santa Luce.

Artificial lake, LlPU oasis since 1992, is located a stone's throw from Rosignano. You can reach it by taking state road 206, in the direction of Pisa, and following the signs for the town of Santa Luce. After a short while you come across the lake, which appears as a body of water surrounded by a thick reed bed. The LlPU visitor center is located near the artificial barrier. The Santa Luce Oasis, with over 150 species recorded, is an important rest area for migratory birds and each season has its protagonists. In winter the lake is populated by multi-colored ducks such as Pochards, Teals, Mallards, Wigeons, while Cormorants put on a show by perching on the branches of the trees with their wings spread to dry in the sun. In summer the reed beds are populated by small, inconspicuous birds such as the Cetti's Warbler, the Reed Warbler and the Great Reed Warbler, while the typical "flask-shaped" nests of the Penduline Tit sway on the tamarisks and the multicoloured Bee-eater settles in the upper part of the lake.