It looks like Mars, but it's Italy. In a country known for its hills, villages, and picture-perfect beaches, some places astound: monumental dunes, clay hills carved by water, barren expanses where the wind dictates the rules.
In Italy, there are deserts, not in the climatic sense, but desert landscapes shaped by time, erosion, and history.
Accona Desert, Crete Senesi (Tuscany)
In the area between Asciano, Buonconvento, and Montalcino, the landscape changes suddenly: the biancane (pale domes of clay and salt) and the calanchi (deep ravines carved by water) create a mosaic of whites, greys, and ochres. The panoramas of the Crete Senesi are like a lunar wave set in the green heart of Tuscany.
Don't miss the Biancane di Leonina nature trail and Jean-Paul Philippe's Site Transitoire, a stone work that frames the sunset over the clay hills. Slippery terrain: hiking boots are a must.
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Piscinas Dunes, Costa Verde (Sardinia)
One of Europe's most impressive dune systems runs from inland to the sea in the municipality of Arbus. The Mistral wind shapes the crests of the Piscinas Dunes and the sandy corridors, creating Saharan vistas just a stone's throw from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Worth seeing are the centuries-old junipers bent by the wind, the contrast between the golden sand and the deep sea, and the traces of mining history along the Ingurtosu Valley. The area is protected at the regional and European levels: strict adherence to the rules of use is expected.
Badlands of Aliano (Basilicata)
A maze of ridges and clay incisions in the province of Matera. This landscape has left its mark on Italian memory thanks to Carlo Levi's memoir, "Christ Stopped at Eboli", in which he was exiled.
The Strada dei Calanchi, the Fossa del Bersagliere, and the natural viewpoints overlooking the white canyons are all landscapes to be admired at a leisurely pace. With a bit of luck, you can spot buzzards, red kites, and, in Basilicata, a small but precious population of Egyptian vultures.
Capocotta, Roman Coast Reserve (Lazio)
A few kilometres from the ring road Grande Raccordo Anulare, a rare system of coastal dunes survives between the beach, Mediterranean scrub, and the Castelporziano Presidential Estate.
There's a corridor of dunes and back-dunes with wooden walkways, a mosaic of coastal habitats, and the almost total absence of visible buildings. The area is included in the Litorale Romano State Nature Reserve, where walking is permitted only on designated paths.
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Is Arenas Biancas, Porto Pino–Teulada (south-west Sardinia)
The Is Arenas dunes are pure white, overlooking the Gulf of Palmas, with tropical colour contrasts: pale sand, turquoise sea, Phoenician junipers, and rosemary essences.
Worth seeing in Porto Pino and Is Arenas are the walkways leading to the second beach and the panoramic viewpoints on either side. Part of the area falls within a military zone: access and visiting times are regulated and, in some areas, prohibited; signs and ordinances must always be respected.
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