The Reserve covers a series of hills delimited in the west by the river Tiber, in the south by Bufalotta ditch, in the north by Rio del Casale, also marking the border with the Municipality of Rome. The low, rounded hills are still cultivated or used as pastures, while the valleys are covered with maquis vegetation: residual oak woods (Turkey oaks, Common oaks, Downy oaks, Italian oaks, etc.), often growing together with Maples and Elms. The local wildlife, threatened by urban development and hunting activity until the establishment of the Reserve, is of great interest: the presence of mammals is very important (fox, beech marten, weasel, as well as badger and porcupine) and includes the Italian hare, an endemic species characterizing the Roman countryside. The historical landscape system of the big estates is also extremely interesting (Marcigliana, Tor S.Giovanni), since it is characterized by ancient farmsteads, often built on nuclei of Roman villas, and by medieval towers creating a unique historical continuum.
