Special Nature Reserve of the Monti Pelati and Torre Cives (Castellamonte)

Nature parks

Special Nature Reserve of the Monti Pelati and Torre Cives (Castellamonte)

Category: Parks

The Monti Pelati (Bald Mountains) are small barren mountains almost devoid of vegetation. They extend over an area of approximately three square kilometres in the Canavese area, to the western end of the morainal hills of the amphitheatre of Ivrea. The mountains are mostly made up of peridotite, a very hard basic rock and therefore unsuitable for vegetation, and the high rainfall has facilitated the erosion of the mountains. These distinctive elements have made the Monti Pelati a good habitat for animals that wouldn’t otherwise live in this area. This is a significant phenomenon, especially with regards to the bird population. There are, in fact, in this area about fifty species of birds including the lesser whitethroat, that normally nests at an altitude of above one thousand metres and the crested tit, that usually lives in mountain conifer woods. The Torre Cives (Cives Tower) is a square tower dating back to the XII century that overlooks the mountains of the Nature Reserve.

Information

Area: 146 hectares
Elevation: 450 - 521 metres above sea level
Established: 1993
Environment: hilly
E-mail: canavese@reteunitaria.piemonte.it
www.parks.it/parchi.canavese
Head Office
Corso Massimo d´Azeglio, 216 - 10081 Castellamonte (To)
Tel. +39.0124.510605 - Fax: +39.0124.514463