Protected Area
Identity Card
- Land Surface Area: 3'563.00 ha
- Regions: Lazio
- Provinces: Rieti
- Municipalities: Ascrea, Castel di Tora, Collalto Sabino, Collegiove, Marcetelli, Nespolo, Paganico, Rocca Sinibalda, Varco Sabino
- Establishment Measures: LR 56 09/09/1988 - LR 29 6/10/97 - LR 28 5/10/99
- PA Official List: EUAP0272
- Park Authority: Ente Regionale Riserva Monte Navegna e Monte Cervia
Establishment Law (PDF - 105Kb)
The Reserve
Monti Navegna e Cervia Nature Reserve, situated in the Province of Rieti, covers an area of 3,599 ha and involves the territory of 9 Municipalities: Ascrea, Castel di Tora, Collalto Sabino, Collegiove, Marcetelli, Nespolo, Paganico, Rocca Sinibalda, and Varco Sabino. The territory of the protected area is situated between the two basins of River Salto and River Turano.
Geology and Geomorphology
According to its geomorphological features, the territory of the Reserve can be divided into three main areas: the mountain and submountain area, the hilly-piedmont area, the valley bottom.
The mountain and submountain area includes, from south to north, the mountains M. S. Giovanni and Vena Maggiore, Mt. Cervia, Mt. Filone, and Mt. Navegna and is characterized by the presence of calcareous-marly lithologic outcrops. The hilly and piedmont area is characterized by a Flysch outcrop consisting of a combination of sandstones and marl, and lithologies with a variable composition, like breccia, conglomerates, calcarenites, gravel, and sand.
Flora
The vegetable landscape of the Nature Reserve is similar to the typical landscape of the Central Apennines and, consistently with the mountain morphology, is mainly represented by mountain and submountain forests. The largest beech forests are situated on the north-eastern slope of the mountains Navegna and Cervia, at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,500 meters, while where the exposure to the sun is more intense, the beech tree gives way to the hop hornbeam.
It is possible to find beech trees also at lower altitudes, in particular along the streams or in deep valleys, together with the common hornbeam and the Turkey oak.
Fauna
The fauna mainly consists of characteristic species of the Apennines and is diversified according to the different habitats it is possible to find in the protected area. As far as birds are concerned, only to quote some species belonging to the forest environment, there are the wallcreeper (Sitta europea), the green woodpecker (Picus viridis), and the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major). There are also several species of birds of prey living in various environments of the Reserve: among them, the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), the buzzard (Buteo buteo), the kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and nocturnal birds of prey like the tawny owl (Strix aluco), the little owl (Athene noctua) and the barn owl (Tyto alba).
