A few kilometers from Livorno, on a promontory overlooking the sea there is Castello Sonnino.

This castle of medieval origin was built by the Medici on the remains of an ancient fort, the Tower of San Salvatore, which helped defend the coast from pirates.

In the late 1800s, Baron Sidney Sonnino, a lover of these coasts, decided to expand it and use it as a residence. The structure was widened and raised and an external chapel was created which is still today in the park surrounding the castle.

Being a private residence it can not be visited except during guided tours organized by the FAI or the Pro Loco of Quercianella. However, there are a few rooms that can be visited, including the reception hall, which was obtain by the Medicean terrace and which offers a breathtaking view of the coast and the sea.

The park is rich in Mediterranean vegetation and it is possible to visit the chapel which contains a stone with an engraved cross that is supposed to have been brought from the Holy Land by some pilgrims.

Under the castle, then, in a cave dug into the cliff there is the sarcophagus of Sidney Sonnino, who chose to be buried inside the coast of Tuscany he loved so much in life.