The
plain of Pisa which stretches from the base of the Monti Pisani as far
as the sea is of alluvial origin, created by material deposited by the
Arno and the Serchio. It is therefore a relatively recent area which a
hypothetical observer would not have been able to see several million
years ago. At that time there was only an island emerging from the waters
of a great sea; that island was formed by the Monti Pisani, one of the
oldest rock formations in Tuscany, which emerged from the sea before the
Pliocene period. The Monti Pisani can thus be seen as a panoramic balcony
from which to observe the surrounding area, both on the Lucca and the
Pisa sides - the cultivated plain, the lake of Massaciuccoli, the forests
of Migliarino and S. Rossore, and finally the sea.
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