From a windy hill, the towers of Tarquinia dominate the Tyrrhenian Sea and a territroy spreading out for almost 28,000 hectares. The country is both flat and hilly. It is flat along the coastal area to the southeast—mostly maremma, swampy coastland, which was once harsh but is now shaded by pinewoods. The coast is sandy, covered with dunes and marine vegetation, which then gives way to farmlands growing vegetables, grapevines, olive trees and wheat. The littoral—made up of over 20km of beaches broken off only by holiday villages or the mouths of rivers—is ideal for sailing and windsurfing, allowing water-sports enthusiasts to explore and enjoy the beauty of a natural coastland environment.
Etruscans scanned the sky and the flight of birds to draw auspices. If you look up into the sky today at the Saline Oasis—a Nature Reserve for the Populating of Animals extending for 325 hectares (90 of which are covered with ancient salt-collecting basins)—both in around the basins you will spot blue and pink herons, flamingos, cormorants, kingfishers, coots and other birds migrating from North Africa to Europe and back. Bird-watching at the Saline is enjoyable, and in its shady, natural environment visitors may also indulge in other sports such as jogging, cycling, horse-riding, archery, and a quick game of soccer, as well as just taking a stroll through the quiet and neat little 18th century hamlet.
If you would prefer to go horse-riding, just like medieval soldiers and Maremma butteri down through the ages, there are trails along the Marta and Mignone Rivers and the gentle hills rolling towards the interior (Turchina, Farnesiana, Ancarano, Roccaccia, etc.), still thickly covered with bushes and Mediterranean vegetation. They were the realm of brigands, fugitives, Jews, heretics and anchorites. Shady bushlands in mushroom-scented hills, dense with scrubs of oak, cerris, pubescent oak, flowering ash, ilex, elm, cornel, madrona, carob tree and Judas tree — the land of wild boars and butteri. The undergrowth of asparagus, misticanza (a variety of salads), mushrooms and chicory have been feeding people for centuries, and supplied many a hapless person with work and a glass of wine.
You can go canoeing upriver or trekking, travelling almost the same way pilgrims have through the ages on their way to Rome, or to the Holy Land, setting out from Tarquinia by ship. En route you will come upon Etruscan and Roman ruins, small mediaeval castles, abandoned churches, prehistoric villages and hermitages, as well as herds of oxen reared in the wild, and horses which have gone back to being wild. If you are game enough, you can even try archeobike trekking, a neologism—and itinerary—which means to go in search of ancient vestiges by bike.
Although there are certainly many adventure enthusiasts, most people are likely to choose the more classic kind of holiday. Tarquinia Lido's sandy shores afford well-equipped, first-rate beaches, not to mention the thrill of being in a place which was once a Greek emporium, a Roman town, and then a mediaeval port frequented by Popes, condottieri and merchants. On the beach you can brown in the sun or go swimming and underwater fishing, as well as take part in sailing club activities. If you enjoy competitive sports, you can find tennis and beach-volleyball courts and football grounds all along the coast, especially an 18-hole golf course on the lovely green of Marina Velca.