wildlife reserves

There exist corners of this country that maintain their value, both in terms of tradition and lifestyle, and in regards to the natural environment. One such place is the upper valley of the Albegna river, in southern Tuscany. Moving inland from the Maremma coast as we climb up narrow winding roads, an ageless landscape reveals itself. Imposing limestone rocks that form gorges and cliffs, enveloped in thick woods and surrounded by cultivated fields delimited by age-old hedges. Tiny perched villages, bursting with history but forgotten by the chronicles, dot a territory where darkness and silence still exist.

Three Nature Reserves, just a few kilometers apart from each other, are enclosed by a vast Special Protection Area (ZPS or Zona di Protezione Speciale) and Site of Importance to the Community (SIC). These accolades testify to the vast environmental value and extraordinary biodiversity of this valley.

The Natural Reserve of Monte Labro, with its 1193 m. high homonymous peak, suggest to the eye a barren lunar landscape while simultaneously summoning the mystical impression that defines it as a continual place of worship since the Bronze Age. The Etruscans considered it a sacred mountain, and in the late nineteenth century Monte Labro was the main stage for the events surrounding the Giurisdavidic community, founded by the “prophet of Amiata”, David Lazzaretti. Untill most recently, in 1981, when the Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen community of Merigar was erected on its northern slopes.

From the top of the ruins of the Giurisdavidic tower one’s gaze is lost amongst the reliefs of the Apennine mountains towards the coast and up to the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago Marine reserve. Many interesting observations can be made of the flora and fauna in the Natural Reserve comprising 616 hectares.

The rocky grasslands are particularly important for the survival of numerous rare and threatened ornithological species, such as the Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus), the bird of prey with its elegant gliding flight. Numerous specimens are present here in spring and summer, so many in fact that they constitute the main nesting nucleus in Tuscany. It is also possible to observe the hawk, the buzzard, the goshawk, the sparrowhawk and the short-toed eagle, as well as many species of graceful passerines such as the alpine chaffinch, the alpine accentor and the ortolan bunting, with their characteristic calls. Not to be missed amongst the botanical species is the abundant flowering of the Etruscan Violet (endemic to the mountains of southern Tuscany) and the various species of wild orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata fuchsii, Anacamptis morio) etc. These grasslands, which represent a priority environment for the Community Habitats Directive, have been subject to specific protection measures.

Moving slightly southwards along the valley of the Albegna river, at an altitude of about 800m we find the Natural Reserve of Pescinello: monumental trees, gigantic maples and centenary lime-trees, as well as cornelian and holly, sprung up as if by magic amongst the limestone rocks or solitarily amidst the pastures, create a fairy-tale landscape. Above the rocky ridges it is not rare to observe the circling of numerous birds of prey, such as buzzards, short-toed eagles and red kites. The territory (in its entirety comprising 149 hectares) slopes downwards to the river and is inhabited by numerous mammals, including the marten and the wolf. In springtime it is still possible to observe in the small ponds of water and in the ancient drinking troughs various amphibious species of local interest (EEC Directive 92/43) which because of their rarity have been inserted into the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. For example, the crested newt (Triturus carnifex) and the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata), a small toad with a curious coloration of the abdomen which it exhibits to frighten its aggressors.

Going even further down the valley, south of the medieval village of Roccalbegna, the Albegna river and its tributary, the Rigo have carved deep and spectacular gorges creating the imposing limestone walls that characterize the landscape of the Natural Reserve of Bosco Rocconi. Within the 371 hectares of protected area, the presence of watercourses free of pollution and the impervious rocky environment surrounded by thick woods are the ideal habitat for exceptional fauna and flora. The undisputed realm of numerous birds of prey, such as the peregrine falcon, the tawny owl and the barn owl. The presence of the rare lanner falcon and the majestic short-toed eagle (or snake eagle) particularly stand out as they are both amongst the threatened European species. The rocky pinnacles are colonized by rupicolous flora comprising numerous rare species and are frequented by the solitary sparrow and in wintertime by the graceful wallcreeper. If autumn offers us the spectacular colors of the changing foliage, given the variety of species of shrubs and trees, in spring we are gifted the flowering of 28 species of wild orchids and the flight of many butterflies, including the rare Zerynthia polyxena. Among the amphibians of Community interest (EEC Directive 92/43) we also find the crested newt and the spectacled salamander, among the many reptiles the cervone, the tortoise and the Coronella girondica. The territory comprising the reserve is densely populated by many mammals: in addition to wild boars, roe deer, fallow deer and hares, there are dormice, martens, badgers, wolves and the elusive wild cat.