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The Provincial Nature Reserve of Mount Penna is one of the seven protected areas in the territory of Mount Amiata (Monte Labbro, Pescinello, Rocconi, Poggio all’Olmo, SS Trinità, Monte Penna, and Monte Penna Wildlife Park).

The Monte Penna Nature Reserve is a protected natural area established in 1996; it’s on a massif of calcareous nature, on the south-eastern side of Mount Amiata, near Castell’Azzara.

The protected area covers more than 2.400 acres, featuring several karstic phenomena, caves and large woods of chestnut, beech and maple trees. From a geological point of view, the soil contains a strong presence of mercury, which was extracted until just over thirty years ago.
The highest peaks are Poggio della Vecchia (3.562 ft) and the Civitella (3.631 ft).

The territory is almost totally wooded, with the exception of some cultivated fields and pastures in its southern part; there are mostly Turkey oaks (Quercus cerris). Bosco della Fonte, on Mount Penna, has remarkable naturalistic value. Within the Nature Reserve, there are also extensive beech woods and a valuable range of centuries-old chestnut trees (Please refer to “Strada della Castagna”).

The local fauna includes foxes, roe deers, martens, wild boars, porcupines, skunks, stone martens and martens; buzzards, owls and tawny owls can be observed as well. Large colonies of bats live in Sassocolato cave.

Activities: There are many suggested trails winding through pristine nature.

For instructional activities and horseback excursions, please can contact “Il Cornacchino” (a farmhouse facility offering FISE-DWA instructors and FITEEC-ANTE environmental equestrian guides): www.ilcornacchino.it. Tel. 0564 951582

The Miccivolete Association promotes the use of the Amiata horse and miccio donkeys for rehabilitation purposes for people with psycho-physical handicaps (telephone 327 2190178 – www.miccivolete.net – miccivolete@libero.it)

For visits to Grotta del Sassocolato, please contact the Speleological Group “L’Orso” which offers visits by appointment (tel. 0564 951032).

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)