Acquerino Cantagallo Nature Reserve
An oasis of beech and chestnut woods, with many trees centuries old
The Acquerino Cantagallo Nature Reserve is located in the heart of the Apennines at an elevation between 300 and 1100 metres. A significant part of it is made up of large woods, formed principally of beech trees and chestnut trees. In some places these woods were completely eliminated but today the wide clearings have almost all been replanted, while the fields that were once pasture are now either covered with ferns or planted with conifers.
Don't miss La Valle delle Barbe, almost at the centre of the state-owned Acquerino-Lungomano forest, a mixture of beeches, resinous plants, and meadows where you may well catch sight of deer. Nor should you miss the farmstead of Spedaletto with its centuries-old beech woods, the valley of Carigiola, the chestnut trees still grown in the Migliana area and the majestic beech tree of Lungomano, which even among so much breathtaking flora stands out with its crown of 600 square metres. In this natural oasis you find animals like the roe deer, the wild boar, foxes, martens and porcupines, as well as birds like the nuthatches, cuckoos, great tits and buzzards, while the rivers are rich in trout, goby, barbel and freshwater shrimps.
In the town of Cantagallo you will find the Reserve's Visitor Centre, where you can go for information and to organise trips.
