The Lecciona beach is a beach located between Torre del Lago and Viareggio, in Lucca. It still preserves its natural state without anthropogenic modifications.
La Lecciona, with the Darsena di Viareggio, is the last beach near Versilia that has remained free and without any type of equipment, and is inserted in the park of Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli.
In the early 1960s space was granted to the Municipality of Florence (Mayor La Pira) to build a holiday village for the use of municipal employees. The Realization was followed by Dr. Pietro Menichini (head of the finance department of the Municipality). The village consisted of a number of wooden bungalows, access to the beach and a central building where there was a common canteen and all services. It was a great success, both for the low cost of accommodation and for the excellent quality of services. After years of life it was closed due to strong pressure from the Socialist Party of the Municipality of Viareggio.
Finally, from an environmental point of view, this is one of the few stretches of sandy coast in Tuscany that has remained in its natural state, with the characteristic dunes covered with pioneer vegetation which allows it to consolidate, thus opposing erosion. In 2007-2008 the wetlands and marshes between the dunes and the pine forest were restored.
In the last ten years, this beach has seen an exponential increase in visitors, given its natural beauty and free access, especially by customers of the campsites, which are located a few hundred meters away.
The Municipality of Viareggio has established a surveillance service since 2006 which is renewed every year through a public tender with surveillance service during the summer. The particular importance of the service should be noted due to the particularly dangerous conditions of this stretch of beach due to currents different from most of the beaches in the area, managed by private individuals and for a fee.
