Gorges of San Venanzio

Established with regional law of 1998, the reserve embraces a territory rich in naturalistic emergencies. Morphologically it is divided into two completely different environments: the narrow limestone gorges upstream and the wide alluvial plain downstream, where one of the rare examples of river wood existing in Central Italy has been reconstituted. Connecting element, the waters of the Aterno river. Peculiarity of the reserve is the extraordinary balance between wild nature and the millenary presence of man. The rock paintings of Rava tagliata; the Roman aqueduct of the "ucchélle" which crosses the gorges on the right side of the valley along a tunnel carved into the rock; the surprising abundance of caves and natural shelters; the suggestion of the hermitage suspended over the river and of the votive shrines, memory of miracles for the faithful; the rural church of the Madonna di Contra: everything contributes to making the Gorges of San Venanzio a real place of the soul.

The gorge becomes less bad just after the Hermitage of San Venanzio, the Aterno river flows calmly.