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This Reserve is found between the Tolfa, and the Sabatini Mountain ranges; it was established in 1988, to protect this very area of Roman Tuscia area.

The Reserve offers some beautiful landscapes, and the ruins of Monterano, the ancient “dead” city with its ducal palace, the aqueduct on arches, the Berninian lion fountain, the Convent of Saint Bonaventura, and other smaller buildings – a most valuable cultural and historical heritage.

FLORA

The landscape is rich and varied: there are hilly forests, volcanic gorges (canyons with steep walls) with typical vegetation and very rare ferns, lawn and pastures, and a stream; not to mention the Mignone River, which flows in this area.

Among plant species, there are beech trees (Fagus spp.), holm oaks (Quercus ilex), green olive trees (Phyllirea latifolia), European nettle trees (Celtis australis), and salt cedars (Tamerix spp.).
We can also find typical riparian vegetation with black alders (Alnus glutinosa), white willow and purple willows (Salix alba, Salix purpurea), and some silver poplars (Populus alba).

There is no shortage of broom-like shrubs (Adenocarpus complicatus), Scotch brooms (Cytisus scoparius), blackthorns (Prunus spinosa), common hawthorns (Crataegus monogyna), almond-leaved pears (Pyrus amygdaliformis), dog roses (Rosa canina), and field elms (Ulmus minor).

FAUNA

The Nature Reserve is home to a large number of species, despite its limited size. It offers many types of suitable, and well-kept environments for wolves, wildcats, badgers, polecats, and martens.
Birds include 92 species: 79 of them belong to nesting types, the others to wintering or migratory ones.
Among the birds of prey, there are red kites, short-toed snake eagles, kestrels, buzzards, Eurasian hobbies, and European honey buzzards.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)