Faggeta vetta di Monte Raschio

The beech forest of Monte Raschio grows at unusually low elevations on a scoria cone of the ancient Sabatine volcano near Oriolo Romano. Inscribed by UNESCO in 2017 as part of the serial World Heritage property Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, it preserves a relict woodland in a lake-influenced microclimate.

Why it matters

Beech forests typically grow higher in the Apennines, but the damp, cool conditions around Lake Bracciano allow beech to persist on Monte Raschio at around 440 to 552 metres. The UNESCO-protected core covers 74 hectares within a wider 712-hectare Site of Community Importance shared by Oriolo Romano and Bassano Romano. The forest is a rare example of a low-elevation, post-glacial beech woodland.

What to notice

Monitoring begun in 2019 by the University of Tuscia and the National Geographic Society recorded beech and Turkey oak trees reaching up to 45 metres. The understorey includes holly, butcher's broom and orchids such as Neottia nidus-avis. The forest also supports species associated with old woodland, including the Rosalia alpina longhorn beetle, observed again here in 2018.

Context and history

Monte Raschio formed from volcanic scoria, tuff and pozzolana. The woodland has been managed as high forest and was once cut for railway sleepers; it has since been left to mature. Seven Roman cistern outlets, or bottini, in the area were connected to the Trajan–Paolo aqueduct. Protection developed in stages, from recognition as a Site of Community Importance in 1999 to the UNESCO inscription in 2017.