SHARRYLAND
Where is
What it is and where it is
Just south of the town of Castagneto di Po, in the area of the Po Hills, there is a dense forest composed of different tree species, very rich in biodiversity and very pleasant to explore by bike, on foot or on horseback along the many paths that cross it. Three of these in particular, lead up to the top of Bric del Vaj, the highest hill affected by the forest, where a large cross stands out. This beautiful forest, however, has one more feature: it is a protected nature reserve.
Why it is special
What makes people want to protect one forest more than others? In this case it is the special forest composition, made up mainly of chestnut and oak trees, as is normal in this area, but also of beech trees, and now comes the best part, because these particular trees, should not be found here. How did the beech trees get from their mountains to the Po Hills? The most credited hypothesis is that they "took refuge" here during the last glaciations, and that is news capable of making us look at the Vaj Forest with different eyes: when we walk its paths, we are literally walking among "glacial relicts"! Isn't that exciting?
Not to be missed
The fauna of the place holds no great surprises; it is the same as in other areas of these hills. Rather, it is the vegetation that provides us with new reasons to marvel: in the undergrowth we may happen to spot the martagon lily, the stick flower and many species of orchids, like little hidden treasures just waiting to delight our senses.
A bit of history
The uniqueness of the Vaj Forest lies precisely in its very long history, and in the anomalies left by the last glaciations in this very area. However, man also has his share, and this time he has been good and played in favor of biodiversity, abandoning the usual way of cutting wood in the forest, which would soon have eliminated the beech specimens, preferring a more judicious management of the forest reserve. As if to say: when we want to, we can be really good!
Trivia
The rocks in these hills are particularly tender and since the 1700s have yielded several fossil records of plant and animal species that lived millions of years ago.
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