Walking in the forests with the impression of being in an enchanted place, which seems to stand still for hundreds of years, can happen. It happens in the woods of Cerbaie, located between the hamlets of Pinete, Torre and Vedute, in the municipality of Fucecchio, a few steps from the most famous natural reserve of the Padule. The woods of Cerbaie represent a "world apart", a territory lived and used until a few decades ago and since then largely abandoned. Paths that start and get lost in the depths of the scrub, endless forests that possess characteristic natural habitats, landscapes and horizons in which it does not seem to be a few hundred meters from the industrialized plain.
In the Cerbaie Site of Community Interest (SCI), thanks to the wet and cool climate, together with the most common trees such as alders, oaks and white firs, rare plants such as Drosera Rotundifolia, a carnivorous plant of the Ice Age, and Osmunda Regalis still survive, typical of tropical climates and dating back to about 10 million years ago. In addition, in this natural environment, remained intact despite the proximity to the city, it still happens to meet squirrels, badgers, porcupines, magpies and woodpeckers, unique and undisturbed forest inhabitants.
A part of this area, that is the woods of the Ex Opera Pia Landini Marchiani, has been affected by a project of valorization, for tourist and recreational purposes, realized by the Municipality of Fucecchio thanks to the funds of the Plan of Rural Development 2007-2013 of the Tuscany Region and with the technical and scientific support of the Ecoistituto delle Cerbaie. This is how 7.5 kilometres of hiking trails have been recovered, along which recreational equipment and educational posters have been prepared, with the aim of starting to revalue a portion of land so rich in beauty to protect and enjoy.
