Onferno Oriented Nature Reserve

This park is in the municipality of Gemmano, in the Conca Valley.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Onferno site has been recognised as a UNESCO UNIVERSAL HERITAGE.

The “Riserva Naturale Orientata” (a special kind of nature reserve in Italy which allows farming and animal breeding within its borders as long as these activities do not disturb the nature in the park), established in 1991, is an area of 274 hectares of great beauty, which records the presence of natural caves extending over 850 meters. It is protected for its unquestionable natural value given by the presence of dense and rich vegetation, of its wildlife, some of which is even rare, and a peculiar geology closely linked to its chalk outcroppings and gullies.

It is an area that allows for excellent excursions to observe its outstanding nature and landscapes, on foot, by bike or even on horseback, along the various marked paths that cross it.

The reserve’s most interesting vegetation is linked to the chalky outcroppings and to the areas influenced by the underground karstic system.

The rugged nature of the dolines, sinkholes and rock faces have ensured the survival of a strip of the vegetation that once covered the entire hill of Rimini. The contrasting microclimates linked to the karstic morphologies have also enriched the vegetation with Mediterranean elements, located in the sunniest and driest spots, and with species typical of higher altitudes in the cooler places.

The area is characterized by fauna that is typical of the hills within the regions of Romagna and Montefeltro, but since the second half of the 1980s there has been an increasingly regular appearance of two new rather important mammals: the porcupine and the roe deer.

The porcupine originally inhabited the central and southern Tyrrhenian side of the peninsula, but in recent years it has begun a slow but constant expansion towards the north and northeast. As for the roe deer, which has long been exterminated in the area, thanks to restocking and reintroductions it has recolonized part of the original ranges, finding a particularly suitable environment in the hills of Romagna.

Then, for the more adventurous visitors, there is the underground journey inside the chalk caves, accompanied by the guides of the Reserve.

Not accessible to people with disabilities