Alpe della Luna Nature Reserve

Lunar landscapes, where you can touch the legend with your fingertips

Forested ridges, quiet villages , imposing rock faces , and sparkling waterfalls . This is the Alpe della Luna Nature Reserve : a treasure trove of natural treasures preserved in a wild and unspoiled environment, traversed only by forest roads and trails. A magical place rich in legends that also inspired the art of Piero della Francesca.

The reserve protects a portion of the Apennine ridge between the municipalities of Badia Tedalda and Sansepolcro and acts as a watershed between the upper Tiber valley on the Tyrrhenian side and that of the Marecchia river on the Adriatic side.

Rich in Turkey oaks, beech forests, and interesting mixed forests, it is inhabited by wolves who rely on natural prey such as wild boar, fallow deer, and roe deer. On the northern slope of Monte dei Frati , the highest in the Reserve at 1,453 meters, you can admire the Ripa della Luna , a rock face over 200 meters high in the shape of an amphitheater. Its name likely derives from its shape or perhaps from the rites dedicated to the moon, which appear to have been held here in ancient times.

The landscape is also characterised by some grassy areas, dotted with small historical settlements such as Monterano and Montelabreve , the latter existing as early as the 13th century, in addition to numerous scattered rural buildings, evidence of a past in which the Alpe was certainly much more inhabited than it is today.

Until recently, all these territories were crossed by flocks transhumance towards the Maremma.

Of no small historical importance is also the presence of the remains of fortifications of the Gothic Line which today constitute the historical-cultural heritage of the " Historical Park of the Gothic Line of Badia Tedalda " and of buildings such as Spinella, Montagna and Pian della Capanna which were protagonists of the partisan struggle, acting as places of refuge and meeting places.