The Baragge Oriented Nature Reserve (Cerrione) - Piemonte Feel

Nature parks

The Baragge Oriented Nature Reserve (Cerrione)

Category: Parks

Cerrione

Between prairies and moors, sparse trees and wooded valleys, some compare the “Baragge” to the African savannah. This nature reserve is subdivided into six distinct territorial centers which touch upon sixteen different communities in the area between Biella, Novara, and Vercelli. We are dealing with the last strips of “baraggia” (wooded moorlands) which can be seen in Piedmont, or rather wooded areas formed by a mixed vegetation of oak, birch, hornbeam, and Scotch pine with a colorful underbrush of grass and pinkish moor flowers on a land with glacial river clay deposits from the Quaternary Period with few nutrients and practically impermeable. Before reclaiming the land for rice cultivation, this landscape was an area common within Piedmont’s plain, from Biella to Ticino. Within the Baragge reserve, self-guided tours are available – an archeological one and routes for horseback riding or mountain bikes. There are also guided tours and educational activities for schools. The most interesting plant species are the Gladiolus Palustris, the Centaurea Montana, the Spiranthes Aestivalis, and more mountainous varieties such as the Iris Sibirica, the Hemerocallis Flava, and the Gentiana Pneumonante. Quite particular are the insects, characterized by rare and native species such as the native Agnitum Livens and the Benbidion Humerale ground beetles, the Catops Westi beetle, and the Coenonympha Oedippus leptidopter, very rare and localized.

Information

Area: 2,905 hectares
Altitude: 217 – 338 meters
Founded: 1992
Environment: plains, hills
E-mail: baraggebessabrich@tiscalinet.it
www.baraggebessabrich.it
Head Office
Via Crosa, 1 - 13882 Cerrione (Bi)
Tel. +39.015.677276/2587028 - Fax: +39.015.2587904