Centro Visita del Pipistrello

The Sala dei Pipistrelli in Barrea presents the greater horseshoe bat through interpretive panels, films and a camera feed from a colony that breeds in a historic village building.

Why it matters

The park authority's centre, managed by the Comune di Barrea, presents bats through texts, photographs and audiovisual material. Cameras installed in an adjoining space transmit images from a colony of greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) that breeds each summer in a historic building in the medieval village. The municipal register describes it as the largest known colony of this species in the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise and among the most significant in Italy. Of the 35 bat species recorded in Italy, 24 are recorded in the park.

What to notice

The single hall contains films and panels curated by Professor Danilo Russo of the University of Naples Federico II. Topics include flight, echolocation, diet, bats' ecological role and conservation measures. The camera feed shows the colony without visitors entering the roost. The greater horseshoe bat is identified by its horseshoe-shaped noseleaf; colony activity varies with season and time of day.

Context and history

The Sala dei Pipistrelli is part of the thematic visitor-centre network of the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise and is listed by the Comune di Barrea among the village's cultural venues. The arrangement keeps the colony separate from direct human contact, using cameras and an adjacent interpretive room to present the bats while limiting disturbance.