Protected Area
Identity Card
- Land Surface Area: 5'862.07 ha
- Regions: Sicilia
- Provinces: Agrigento, Palermo
- Municipalities: Bivona, Burgio, Chiusa Sclafani, Palazzo Adriano
- Establishment Measures: D.A. 481/44 25/07/1997
- PA Official List: EUAP1136
Riserva Naturale Orientata Monti di Palazzo Adriano e Valle del Sosio
The enhancement of the mountains of Valle del Sosio from a paleontological point of view is given to the precious work of Gaetano Giorgio Gemmellaro. As a matter of fact, here there are the most ancient and precious fossils of the whole Sicily, which have been settling and stratifying since the Permian period (in the Paleozoic Era) and which give origin to calcareous rocks.
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Flora
The most significant woodland is Bosco di Sant'Adriano, dominated by ilex trees above all in the most rocky and steep slopes and on the walls with a considerable gradient, where they become a pioneer plant.
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Fauna
The local botanic heritage is of great interest, as well as the wildlife heritage, which finds here variegated habitats: there are 60 nesting species of birds, there are almost all the reptiles and amphibians living in Sicily, as well as a representative group of all the regional woodland wildlife, with some rare and exceptional species like Bonelli's Eagle, the Black and Red Kites, and the Dipper, which is an ideal indicator of the quality of the environment (it only stops where it can find invertebrates choosing only very clean waters).
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