Riserva naturale orientata Cavagrande del Cassibile
The Riserva Naturale orientata Cavagrande del Cassibile is a nature reserve in the southeast of Sicily in the free municipal consortium of Syracuse .
Location and origin
Almost ten kilometers north of the city of Avola is the Cavagrande valley, cut by the Cassibile River about 250 meters deep into a foothill of the Monti Iblei , a canyon about 10 kilometers long with an east-west course. The river has dug its bed in the limestone over millions of years, creating a series of water basins ( laghetti ) and waterfalls ( cascate ) or overflows. The banks partly consist of terrace-like stone slabs, which allow hikers and those looking for relaxation in many places easy access to and across the water.
The area has been under nature protection since 1984, since 1990 it has been officially a nature reserve with an area of approx. 2,700 hectares, of which approx. 900 hectares are to be assigned to the strictly protected zone A, approx. 1,800 hectares are designated as zone B with less strict protection regulations .
history
Due to the inaccessibility of the valley, as early as the 13th century BC Two small settlements carved into the rock. Later, from the 11th to the 8th centuries BC BC, there was a necropolis similar to the one in Pantalica nearby . The archaeological site of several hundred chamber graves, located on a steep northern slope of the valley, yielded a large number of valuable ceramic grave goods. In the early Middle Ages, the caves, also a parallel to Pantalica, were used by escaped Byzantine Christians as a hiding place from the Islamic occupiers ( Saracens ). During this time, some of the grave caves were converted into dwelling caves , and small chapels were also built, which were often used long after the settlement was abandoned.
flora
The flora of the Cavagrande is diverse, including around 400 species, some of which are endemic .
The rock neck herb ( Trachelium lanceolatum ) is particularly interesting in the Ibleian Mountains area . Other local plants are the hairy cymbal herb ( Cymbalaria pubescens ), tooth rust ( Odontites bocconei ), crescent ragwort ( Ophrys lunulata ), the Sicilian snapdragon ( Antirrhinum siculum ) and the semi-shrubbed marigold ( Calendula suffruticosa ). Typical Mediterranean plants are dwarf palm ( Chamaerops humilis ), shrub germander ( Teucrium fruticans ), thorny beaver noodle ( Sarcopoterium spinosum ), trilobed sage ( Salvia triloba ), shrub-shrub ( Phlomis fruticosa ), Ferulago nodosa ( Orchis nodosa , long-spurred boy ) and the oriental plane tree ( Platanus orientalis ). The rare ragwort species Ophrys exaltata also occurs here. Unusual for the area, but found there are the small snowdrops ( Galanthus nivalis ), Spurge ( Euphorbia amygdaloides ) and occurring more in western Sicily Taubnesselart Lamium flexuosum and the tropical banded Saumfarn ( Pteris vittata ).
fauna
The most common vertebrates are lizards, e.g. B. the ruined lizard Podarcis siculus . A specialty of the bird world is the endemic species of the Sicilian tailed tit ( Aegithalos caudatus siculus ). The peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus ), which hardly nests in Sicily, can also be observed. However, there are also a number of cave and ground dwellers that are typical of the Iblei Mountains: common porcupine ( Hystrix cristata ), pine marten ( Martes martes ), tortoises ( Testudo hermanni hermanni ) and also pond turtles ( Emys orbicularis ), leopard snakes ( Elaphe situla) ), painted disc beak - a species of frog - ( Discoglossus pictus pictus ), Italian tree frog ( Hyla intermedia ) and a few others. Water-dwellers are rather few and far between, hardly any fish are sighted, in spring the water is full of tadpoles.
Web links
- La riserva di Cavagrande on www.parks.it
Coordinates: 36 ° 57 ′ 13.9 ″ N , 15 ° 10 ′ 33.2 ″ E