THE SECRETS OF THE SINGLE TRACK MONTEFALCONE Fabio Cappelli
This is the guide a particular day, a day where cycling has proved only a pretext to find a place rarely visited, a place that sometimes appears to be unknown to most and others simply snubbed because of its proximity to the production centers of the leather , is in fact the Reserve biogenetic Montefalcone, it in fact, confined within the hills of Cerbaie, affects an area located not far from the town of Castelfranco di Sotto, and that contrary to what you may think has proved be a fascinating place and deserves to be told for its peculiarities.
The beginning of this June day, blessed with a wonderful spring sun has been input from House Nacci, a defense of the State Forestry Corps, through which you access the secure area of \u200b\u200bthe reserve, which counted on an area of \u200b\u200b503 hectares is to be totally enclosed and forms a dense vegetation tall trees, mainly composed of pines, cedars, oaks, hornbeam and chestnut trees.
The first stop, just after the entrance gate, is near a large wooden panel tells us that, using simple graphics, the geological history of Cerbaie, which originated, in a nutshell from settling on the seabed, about 3 million years ago, the alluvium of the findings Montalbano Monti Pisani and then by the withdrawal of the primeval sea and a simultaneous erosion, have taken shape in the hills of the same name as we see them today, the traces of that bygone period are demonstrated by the many remnants of shells that appear here as anywhere in the neighborhood.
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| within the Reserve |
Shortly after emerging from Vallina and provided one more stop, this time on the edge of the muddy waters of Lake of the aviaries, which owes its name to precisely large aviaries for birds that are found in its immediate area and are home to many varieties of birds, which often can not be reintroduced in the wild because they are not native species of wildlife but, unfortunately, unscrupulous individuals have not hesitated to import of exotic contraband from snatching them forever to their places of origin.
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| marginetta Brazilians |
The journey continues, the next stop and it tastes dell'amarcord, in a retrospective memories evidenced by a more metaphysical real, a manufactured stone built more than 60 years ago by men of soldiers, too, a bit 'as the birds of the aviary of the lake, had to leave their homeland, Brazil, to come to Italy to fight alongside the American army in the great campaign to liberate Europe from fascism; the little work that imitates the bill in the cave of Massabielle in Lourdes was used in religious services, and with his arch form was an ideal bridge between the Cerbaie woods and forests of the Amazon. After the war , Brazilian soldiers returned to their homes but not without leaving a beautiful memory among the citizens of the place, while the small monument of the vegetation was forgotten, until its rediscovery by a local enthusiasts and its restoration has given new life to this corner of memory.
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| ponds in the Reserve |
Closed historical parenthesis is the new nature to take over an incredibly wild nature, for some ways almost prehistoric, a landscape made of ancestral streams, ponds, small swamps, glades and trees, hills interspersed with ravines, pierced here and there with a light dust of almost ghostly, a nature rich in biodiversity sometimes characterized by a flora almost has no equal nowhere else in that regard I cite as an example a small map, like the clover which he has knowledge only in this place, even for far as we know, the specimen seen on this day is practically the only one left !. Reserve, as a point of passage and nesting of many species of migratory birds, it reveals its nature as a safe haven in restricted areas that are heavily populated, there are many varieties of birds of prey that are refuge, wildlife in general, characterized mainly by deer, deer, foxes, wild boars and many other species, can still hope for a survival shelter from excessive human interference, undisturbed walking around in this wonderful green space.
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| Francigena the way to the Seven Oaks |
The chronicle of this rewarding day in the reserve Montefalcone ends here, but it's worth, before Finally, remember that even a short walk from the reserve in the area of \u200b\u200bSeven Oaks was passing in the Middle Ages the Francigena, which through the Alton area of \u200b\u200bCerbaie but allowed in the lower Valdarno, step by step approach by pilgrims from north Europe to the City Eternal.
