Leopold II is considered an ‘enlightened man’. The reclamation work started was aimed at modernising the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, combating the problem of the Maremma marshes, fighting the latifundium and feudal rights, and introducing new crops.
.
The reclamation was carried out through the construction of canals to divert the rivers, and through “colmatura”, that is to say the filling and raising of the marshy land, through the sedimentation of the peat from a nearby river conveyed into the reclaimed basins by special diversionary canals.
This great work continued for many years, but it should be noted that the complete reclamation of the Maremma territory only took place after the First World War.
But we come to the early 1900s, and in particular the 1930s. This is where Italo Balbo entered the scene, and Punta Troia rediscovered its splendour.
