42.698° N, 10.992° E
Complete guide
Principina a Mare: beach guide
What the beach is like
The Spiaggia di Principina a Mare belongs to the hamlet of the same name in the municipality of Grosseto, in Tuscany. Principina a Mare is a seaside resort on the northern edge of the Parco della Maremma. It lies within the Pineta Granducale di Grosseto and is characterised by low buildings and detached houses surrounded by greenery. The beach faces the Tyrrhenian Sea and is sandy. Towards the Ombrone the coastline has the classic wild beaches of the Maremma, which reach into still marshy land.
The Principina a Mare beach is known as the "beach of the huts". The protected area of the Parco della Maremma and its adjoining area stretch from the village of Principina a Mare, to the north, to the Talamone headland, to the south. The northern part of the park is flat and made up of alluvial land formed by deposits carried by the Ombrone river. The Ombrone delta plain is a recently formed area, built up by successive dune ridges made of material the river carried out to sea.
Getting there
Marina di Grosseto lies 2.3 km as the crow flies north-west of the beach. The centre of Grosseto is 12 km to the north-east as the crow flies. According to the park's website, the beach can be reached by car, with free parking, by bus from Grosseto or by bicycle along the cycle path linking Grosseto to Marina di Grosseto. In the area there are also cycle paths linking other coastal resorts and the city of Grosseto.
From Florence you take the expressway to Siena and then the E78 towards Grosseto.
When to go
According to QualeSpiaggia data, the beach faces south-west. With the south wind (ostro), the south-west wind (libeccio) and the west wind (ponente), the wind comes from the sea and the beach is exposed to waves and rough sea. With the north wind (tramontana), the north-east wind (grecale) and the east wind (levante), the wind blows from the land and the beach is sheltered, with calmer water close to shore. The sirocco (scirocco) and the mistral (maestrale) arrive across the shoreline instead. These are indications derived from the orientation of the coast, not weather forecasts.
In winter the resort is almost completely uninhabited, while in summer, particularly in July and August, it becomes a very busy destination. The highest peaks of visitors come in the weeks around Ferragosto. Foreign tourists, mainly from the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, tend to prefer June and September. Between May and June the area of the Padule della Trappola, towards the Ombrone, is subject to swarms of tiny insects of the genus Leptoconops, locally called serafiche, which bite people and animals. They can trigger violent allergic reactions and, according to Wikipedia, have lately also appeared sporadically in July and August.
Seabed and sea
For the 2025 season the European Environment Agency (EEA) rates the bathing water quality of this stretch as excellent. In 2026 the Principina a Mare stretch appears on the list of Blue Flag (Bandiera Blu) beaches compiled by the FEE, together with Marina di Grosseto. In front of the beach the sea has a shallow, gently sloping bottom. In 2017 a procedure was launched for urgent work against coastal erosion, also on the right bank of the Ombrone, at Torre Trappola.
Facilities and free beach
Along the hamlet's shoreline there are wide stretches of free beach. The centre of the hamlet consists mainly of holiday homes, upmarket hotels and a mid-range campsite. The resort, sparsely populated in winter, is also popular because of the nearby mouth of the Ombrone and the Parco naturale della Maremma. It is worth bringing an umbrella, water and sunscreen.
Rules and protected areas
The website of the Maremma park specifies that moving wood to build huts on the beach is not allowed. The wetland of the Padule della Trappola and the mouth of the Ombrone is one of the 11 Ramsar sites in Tuscany, with number 2284, designated by ministerial decree of 21/10/2013. The park's Natura 2000 sites also include the Palude della Trappola, Bocca d'Ombrone.
With children
According to Visit Tuscany, the shallow, gently sloping bottom makes the resort suitable for families with children.
Nearby
According to Wikipedia, the marshy area called Padule della Trappola is ideal for birdwatching because of the large number of marsh birds that come to winter there. The P1 itinerary crosses part of the area lying within the boundaries of the Parco naturale della Maremma. Near the mouth of the Ombrone lie the marshy environments called Chiari della Trappola, which according to the park authority may have formed as the beach advanced and enclosed ancient coastal ponds. The Trappola area is marked by marshy "bozzi" (pools), interdune hollows with glasswort or rushes, and stands of stone pine and juniper.
In the same area stands the Torre della Trappola, an old medieval fortification later used as a collection point for salt, because of nearby salt pans that have since disappeared. Not far away is the chapel of Santa Maria alla Trappola. The hamlet has the church of Santa Teresa di Lisieux, built in 1968 to a design by the engineer Leone Feroci. The Spiaggia di Rosmarina is 3 km to the north-west as the crow flies. Beyond the mouth of the Ombrone, the Marina di Alberese beach stretches for a few kilometres to Collelungo. The other natural areas of the district also include the Diaccia Botrona reserve and the WWF San Felice oasis.
Sources
- QualeSpiaggia — open data spiagge (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikipedia (it) — Principina a Mare
- Principina a Mare | Visit Tuscany
- At the beach - Parco Maremma
- parco-maremma.it — CETS-PARCO-2018-definitiva_compressed.pdf
- Wikivoyage (it) — Grosseto
- EEA — Bathing water quality 2025 (IT009053011006)
- FEE Italia — Bandiera Blu 2026, elenco spiagge
- Wikipedia (en) — Principina a Mare