Grosseto, “Grosseto city of the river” returns for the fifth year

Grosseto, “Grosseto city of the river” returns for the fifth year.

Back for the fifth year”Grosseto, city of the river" the initiative launched by the Terramare asd association together with the Uisp and the Municipality of Grosseto for the valorization of the Ombrone through actions of raising awareness with local schools and tourism promotion. Culture, sport, tourism and environment these are the ingredients of the Terramare proposal to make the Ombrone river known from multiple points of view.

“The Municipality – they say the mayor of Grosseto Antonfrancesco Vivarelli Colonna and the tourism councilor Riccardo Megale – intends to support every serious project that is able to achieve the multiple objective of valorising the territory, raising awareness and increasing the tourist offer. This is the case, for example, of "Grosseto, river city", which offers the possibility of knowing and concretely appreciating the Ombrone valley, a corner of nature that deserves to be discovered and experienced to the full".

“For ten years now our association and Uisp – declares Maurizio Zaccherotti, President of Terramare and national manager of Uisp Acquaviva – have been promoting actions to enhance the Ombrone river valley through cultural, sporting, tourist and environmental awareness initiatives to carry forward the river contract. We believe that the Ombrone valley and the city of Grosseto can become a driving force for the promotion of the Maremma which has its roots in the history of a territory that sees the river as the protagonist. Not only that, but the Ombrone represents an open-air gym for sporting activities, a natural connection between the sea and hillside locations. We believe that focusing on the promotion of the river can bring positive economic effects on the hospitality businesses and on the image of the city of Grosseto.”

The project is made up of several parts: the first concerns the organization of three guided trekking excursions (with musical performances) on the trail of the reclamation and the history of the Ombrone. Specifically, an excursion will take place in Marina d'Alberese and the mouth of the Ombrone (itinerary A7 of the Maremma Regional Park); one in Grosseto – from Porta Vecchia to Berrettino, in the river floodplain; finally one at the Usi Civici of Montepescali. The trekking program, entitled "Musical Trails of Grosseto", aims to develop guided excursions with an environmental hiker guide and tourist guide to discover Grosseto and some important places linked by a common thread which is the Ombrone river and the Reclamation.

The second part is instead dedicated to navigation of the Ombrone from a tourist/sports perspective and includes the organization of three guided soft-rafting descents with organized groups. Also suitable for beginners and all those who want to discover the thrill of going down a river in complete safety, soft rafting is a river descent on a particular inflatable boat called a raft. The crew made up of a minimum of 6 participants up to a maximum of 18 (on three dinghies) actively participates in the descent with the paddle and is coordinated by the conductor who, sitting on the back, secures and maneuvers the raft. The descents will mainly take place on the urban river stretch of Grosseto up to the beautiful rapid under the Mussolini bridge.

The third part is the educational one, dedicated to schools, and includes three days of "cleaning the river" preceded by in-depth classroom lessons. The objective is to raise students' awareness of the importance of enhancing and respecting the Ombrone river. The cleaning initiatives with a highly social and educational value will be developed by the operators and members of the Terramare/Uisp association together with the schools. The activities will take place both along the bank and directly in the riverbed using the inflatable boats made available by the Terramare association, as carried out in previous years. The chosen area is the one between the Steccaia and the ancient Aurelia. The preparatory lessons in class will concern the dynamics of river formation, what are the main characteristics of the riparian vegetation, the flow of the current and the erosive action, the main factors of pollution of the river, and therefore of the sea; guidelines on how to behave in the event of a flood, not least a hint on what river contracts are and how you can join.