Riserva Naturale Regionale Monte Genzana Alto Gizio

The Nature Reserve

The Monte Genzana Alto Gizio Regional Nature Reserve covers 3,164 hectares and lies entirely within the municipality of Pettorano sul Gizio.

Established by Regional Law no. 116 dated 28 November 1996, it is the largest nature reserve in Abruzzo and was created mainly to safeguard an area of great natural interest, located between the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park and the Majella National Park.

Its territory, developing between the 530m asl of the river Gizio and the 2,170m asl of Mt. Genzana, consists of very different natural environments preserving a considerable heritage of flora and fauna. As a matter of fact, there are the river environments of the river Gizio and the stream Riaccio, mixed woodlands dominated by Downy oaks and Hornbeams in the hills, often growing with Common Yew and Maples in the mountains, the sub-alpine prostrate shrubs and the alpine summit grasslands.

The fauna is also very rich and interesting: among the mammals, we find the Marsican brown bear, the wolf, the deer, the roe deer, the wild boar, the fox, the marten, the dormouse, the hare and squirrel. Among birds, there are the eagle, the peregrine falcon, the European honey buzzard, the hobby, the northern goshawk, the common buzzard and the rock partridge.
Finally, a special feature that makes this reserve unique in the overall panorama of regional reserves is the presence of the historic centre in the built-up area of Pettorano sul Gizio, within the protected area.

Fauna

The Nature Reserve is characterized by a great biological diversity, offering an almost complete panorama of the wildlife of the Apennines.
Besides the general wildlife richness, it is important to highlight that the Reserve and the adjacent areas house two important wildlife species which, according to the European Union Directives, are considered species of Community interest: the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos marsicanus), also the symbol of the Reserve, and the Wolf (Canis lupus).

• Mammals
• Birds
• Amphibians
• Reptiles
• Insects

Flora

The entities listed in the floristic list amount to 691 species divided into 82 families and 342 genera; among these, the 11 exotic species (8 cultivated and 3 adventitious) are not counted, 7 of which belong to the Pinophyta and are therefore closely linked to reforestation in the past.
Dichotyledons, with 547 species (79.2%), are the most numerous taxonomic group, followed by monocotyledons (18.1%); pteridophytes and gymnosperms are less present, with 15 and 4 species respectively.
The family with the largest number of species is Asteraceae (83 species), followed by Poaceae (65) and Fabaceae (53). There is a high number of Lamiaceae (46), Rosaceae (35), Caryophyllaceae (34) and Brassicaceae (31), and the abundance of Orchidaceae (27), favoured by the presence of calcareous and dry substrate, is underlined.

Further information (Italian text)