Porta lake – Versilia

Lake Porta is located on the border between Versilia and the municipality of Massa Carrara.

It hosts a great variety of flora and fauna and above all is a meeting place for

migratory birds before and after the trip to Africa.

The route surrounds the whole lake with different settings.

It is advisable to park at the bottom of the overpass that runs alongside the Versilia Golf Club.

After that you mount on the river bank (the one facing the mountains, not adjacent to the golf course)

and continue for a while until you reach a crossroads where you must continue to the right.

We will find ourselves in the middle of a classic maritime forest, always continuing along the path we

will find ourselves on an embankment, a little further on the view will open onto the lake.

This part of the route is certainly the most beautiful, in the distance you can see the water straws that

cover the surface, while in the stretch of water you can see ducks and the nice little nutria

very numerous aquatic mammals in Lake Porta.

Continuing to cross the water straws and then return to the turning point, where we will turn to

right to return to the starting embankment.

The route is almost entirely in the sun, so it is recommended, in summer, to follow it in the coolest hours

of the day and always accompanied by a bottle of water.

History:

The first evidence of the lake dates back to the 1300s due to disputes between neighboring nobles

at the time the lake was very different with a large swamp area.

The following centuries were very turbulent due to border issues and continuous flooding

also thanks to the diversion of several rivers in it.

In the nineteenth century, reclamation of the swamp was begun to defeat the scourge of malaria.

After the end of the violent bombings of the Second World War, he recovered with the trials

of reclamation and in 1998 the protected natural area was established.

Find out more