| Guided Natural Reserve of the Sagittario Gorges | |
 | |
Location  | |
| Area type | Natural reserve |
|---|---|
| State | Italy |
| Region | Abruzzo |
| Territory | Aquilano |
| Surface | 450 ha |
| Foundation year | 1997 |
| Institutional website | |
Guided Natural Reserve of the Sagittario Gorges is located in Abruzzo.
To know
The Sagittario Gorges Guided Nature Reserve is a protected natural area in Abruzzo, established in 1997. Many wild animals find refuge in the gorges, from wolves to hawks, from octopus (small hazel-colored dormice) to owls to the Marsican bear. Inside the reserve there is an important botanical garden, a museum, a picnic area and paths.
Geographical notes
Entirely included in the municipality of Anversa degli Abruzzi includes the valley crossed by the Sagittarius River which extends from Villalago to Cocullo onAbruzzo Apennines in Zone Peligna-Alto Sangro ValleyThe area of the gorges starts from the San Domenico dam, where the hermitage of San Domenico stands, near Villalago.
Flora and fauna
- Flora
The environmental variety and the geographical peculiarities of the Reserve territory have allowed the development of interesting floristic species for their richness and variety. The species with the greatest value is the cornflower of Sagittarius, exclusive to these areas where it was discovered not many decades ago by the botanist Anzalone. We also find the Campanula cavolinii, endemic to Abruzzo and the rare Ephedra of the Nebrodi. On the meadows the vesicaria grass, the yellow asphodel, the minuartia vegetate; in the more humid areas there are the marsh calta, the filipendula ulmaria and the aquatic iris. The species in question are recognized as species of conservation interest; for this reason they are protected at a technical and legislative level, in order to avoid the danger of extinction.
- Fauna
The Apennine fauna is fully represented in the area of the Gorges of Sagittario (only the chamois is an exception); this is true for both mammal species and birds. It is not difficult to observe the golden eagle or the peregrine falcon; there are also numerous coral choughs and mountain swallows; the latter usually build their nests also inside the road tunnels. The birdlife of the Reserve is completed by the rock partridge, the black redstart, the blue rock thrush and the remarkable rarity and beauty of the white-backed woodpecker and the wallcreeper; the latter species symbolically represents the Reserve. Near the Sorgenti del Cavuto it is possible to find the nesting of the dipper and the yellow wagtail. The increasingly rare Apennine trout is present in the spring waters. The establishment of the Reserve allows the protection of important species of mammals such as the Marsican bear, the wolf, the red deer and the roe deer. The presence of the Italian hare is important and endemic.
Background
Long known for their naturalistic importance even outside Abruzzo, the gorges were described by English travelers Richard Craven and Edward Lear around the middle of the nineteenth century and their environment was defined by them as "scary and beautiful".
It was established with Regional Law number 97 of 22 February 1997 by the Abruzzo region.
How to get
The first offshoots of the gorges start from the last houses in Anversa degli Abruzzi, no more than 5 km from the Cocullo A25 motorway exit. The entire territory, making up the protected area, has an extension of about 450 hectares and ranges from 500 m above sea level downstream of the town of Antwerp up to 1,500 m of Pizzo Marcello to skirt the external protection area of the National Park. The morphology is V-shaped, typical of the fluvial incision made possible by the erosive action of the waters of the Sagittarius which took place over millions of years to create a valley made up of rocks with carbonate marine sediments of corals and foraminifera; the age in which the deposits would have formed is between 200 and 20 million years before the creation of the Apennine chain by lifting. On the other hand, the discovery of fossil shells on Pizzo Marcello testifies to the fact that the very steep wall of the highest peak in the area was in the past a cliff.
By plane
- Pescara airport (Abruzzo International Airport), Via Tiburtina Km 229.100, ☎ 39 085 4324201.
By car
The Reserve can be reached by car by exiting at the tollbooth of Cocullo of the highway Rome-Pescara and continuing to the town of Anversa degli Abruzzi.
The Reserve can be reached by car by exiting at the tollbooth of On the train
from Roma Tiburtina to Sulmona
from Roma Tiburtina to SulmonaBy bus
With the means of the Abruzzo public regional bus lines (ARPA) [1]; departures from Sulmona and departures from Rome for Sulmona and Scanno.
With the means of the Abruzzo public regional bus lines (ARPA) Permits / Rates
How to get around
There are some in the Reserve paths traced by the CAI. From the Sorgenti del Cavuto located at an altitude of 500, signs lead hikers towards the picturesque town of Castrovalva, through geological path n. 18 CAI, which climbs up to the asphalted road that leads to the town (at the intersection with the Regional Road 479). At the crossroads it is possible to continue on the right side towards Path of Maples to reach the Floristic Path; alternatively it is possible to proceed following the road to Castrovalva to reach Colle San Michele where the homonymous church stands (altitude 802). The return to the base point of Botanical Garden it is made possible by another path that you take from the town cemetery (altitude 810) to start on path n. 19 CAI, which closes an itinerary arranged in an annular way. The entire circular route can be covered in about 3 hours, while the ascent from the Botanical Garden to Colle San Michele can be covered in about an hour and a half of walking.
What see
Places of good interest in the vicinity are:
- 1 Old village of Frattura.
- 2 Lake of Scanno (Scanno/Villalago).
- Lake of San Domenico.
- Pio Lake.
- Church of the Madonna delle Grazie.
- 3 Church of the Madonna del Lago (Sanctuary of the Annunziata).
- Hermitage of Sant'Egidio.
- Hermitage of San Domenico.
What to do
Shopping
Where to eat
- 1 Agriturismo Locanda Nido d'Aquila, Via Della Fonte (in Castrovalva), ☎ 39 0864 49141. Accommodation too
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
- Anversa degli Abruzzi
- Castrovalva
- Sulmona - City of Peligni, Municipium Roman, homeland of the Latin poet Ovid (Sulmo mihi patria est), capital ofAbruzzo in the thirteenth century, Sulmona is the reference city of Peligna-Alto Sangro Valley; it boasts an important monumental center and also links its name to the production of sugared almonds, already flourishing and renowned in the past.
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Guided Natural Reserve of the Sagittario Gorges
Commons contains images or other files on Guided Natural Reserve of the Sagittario Gorges
