Collemeluccio-Montedimezzo Nature Reserve: an oasis of ancient woods

Near the municipality of Pescolanciano, in Alto Molise, extends the Collemeluccio-Montedimezzo Alto Molise Nature Reserve, one of the most important Italian UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. It was established in 1977, but expanded in 2014, and covers over 25,000 hectares of pristine nature. The spectacle this reserve offers is marvelous.

The woods are dense with white fir (abete bianco), which is a very rare species found only in the Apennines. Many open areas are also found, which are colored with warm hues ranging from intense red to yellow. The fauna is also surprising, including Apennine wolves and peregrine falcons. The trails are well-marked and suitable for everyone, immersed in nature and surrounded by breathtaking panoramas, and walking them means traversing the most uncontaminated nature. The Colle San Biagio trail, for example, is also accessible to people with disabilities, while the Colle Gendarme offers a marvelous viewpoint that embraces the entire wooded landscape.

Then there is a very useful and very important point of interest: the Montemezzo Visitors Center, which hosts thematic areas dedicated to fauna, geology, and forestry, as well as aviaries dedicated to now-extinct species. This area also preserves evidence of a long-gone era. In fact, there are many routes, called tratturi, which were used by transhumant shepherds to move their flocks between the mountain pastures and the Tavoliere plain.

Even today, it is possible to travel them on foot or by mountain bike. The Colle Meluccio-Montemezzo Reserve is therefore an ideal place for those seeking silence away from mass tourism. When one thinks that Molise has little to offer, it is enough to mention this area to be immediately proven wrong. It is a corner of paradise that speaks of biodiversity.

cover photo credits aledm90