REGIONAL NATURAL RESERVE OF MONTE PRINZERA

The precious ophiolitic "leg" in Emilia of the pilgrimage along the Francigena in every age
In the Apennine mountains of Emilia, near Parma, a few dozen kilometers from both the Po Valley and the Mediterranean Sea, the compact, rocky ophiolitic ridge of Monte Prinzera towers in isolation over the Taro and Sporzana valleys, and over a variety of slopes of clayey, calcareous or sandy hillsides dotted with forests of Oak, Chestnut and European Hophornbeam, meadows, brushwoods, dells, gulches and wet zones.

The geographical position, climatic factors, types of rocks and soils, have concentrated in this limited area (Site of Community Importance) an interesting collection of landscapes, biodiversity, ecological phenomena and evidence of human settlements, making it a precious environmental laboratory.

This scenic ophiolitic land, similar to the high mountain, contains minerals, rocks, water and springs, rare plants like the Mt. Prinzera Buckler Mustard, winged fauna like many butterflies, the Red-legged Partridge, Rock Thrush, and birds of prey like the Short-toed Eagle.

Human history with its mysteries and rituals, is evoked in many traces from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages, the time of the European pilgrimages along the Via Francigena across Mount Bardone, as well as the passage of Napoleon's armies and military mule trails carved out in the early 20th century.


Founded: 1992
Area: 300 hectares
Altitude: 290 – 736 meters above sea level
Management: c/o Municipality of Fornovo Taro (PR), tel. 0525-400611
e-mail: riservaprinzera@libero.it
Operating headquarters and Visitors' Center: via Rocchetta 1, Piantonia-Fornovo Taro (PR), tel. 0525-30195
Internet: www.regione.emilia-romagna.it/parchi/prinzera
Municipalities involved: Fornovo Taro, Terenzo