The Natural Park of Val Rosandra has been founded in 1984. It extends on 434 hectares and is located in the south-east area of the Province of Trieste. Several environments are present in the Park: the Karstic heath on the Monte Stena, the Karstic wood and the black pine wood in other areas, but the most interesting and the most precious is the water environment along the Rosandra a torrential river. The Rosandra valley orientated from north-west to south-east with steep rocks and gravel sides and with canyon and a stream on the bottom; it is a corner of wilderness preserved close to the town of Trieste.
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Vegetation: the diversity of the opposite sides of the valley and the two grounds (limestone and sandstone) in the park determine the development of the different plant associations: the so-called pioneer vegetation on the rocks and gravels, the vegetation of the Karstic heath, the Karstic trees with oaks, ashes and hornbeams and popular, willow and alder wood along the water. |
| The human activity in the Park is evidenced by the plantations of the black pine and cultivations around Botazzo. In the Park it is possible to find the following endemic plant species: Moehringia Tommasinii on the rock (perennial grass), Dianthus Sylvestris subsp. Tergestinus on the heath (a wild carnation), Drypis Spinosa subsp. Jaquiniana and Festuca Spectabilis subsp. Carniolica (perennal grass with yellow flowers), and Genista Holopetala on the Monte Carso. |
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Historic sites: the valley is a natural passage from the land to the coast and therefore it has been used as a trade path. Human presence is evidenced by the Prehistoric (Mesolitic and Neolitic) tools found in the caves of the valley and settlements (iron age), called "Castellieri", on the tops of the S.Michele hill and of the Monte Carso where some rudimentary walls are still visible. In the 1st century, the Romans built a 10 km long aqueduct bringing water from the Rosandra Valley to the town of Tergeste (Trieste). Some tracts of the aqueduct are still visible at the entrance to the valley, at Bagnoli della Rosandra. In the middle of the valley a small church stands, S. Maria in Siaris, already present in the 13th century and on the Moccò hill ruins of a Middle Ages castle are visible. Today the Park is visited by many hikers, cave hikers and especially climbers. The first climbing courses in the valley had been run by Emilio Comici already in the thirties. |
Geomorphology and climate: Rosandra valley is the only valley in the Carso Plateau. The water-fall of Rosandra creek is 30 mt high and is located at the edge between the waterproof sandstone and the water soluble limestone. On the bottom of the valley there is a canyon eroded by water in the limestone and because of this erosion about 70 caves are found in the valley.
In wintertime a strong wind called "Bora" is blowing through the valley since it is a natural passage from the hinterland to the Adriatic Sea. The speed of the wind through the valley can reach 150 km/h. The south-west side is exposed to the Bora and therefore the climate is cold and temperatures are very low.
The opposite north-east side is protected from the Bora and the climate is mild, almost Mediterranean. as a consequence, at the same altitude of the valley, but on the opposite sides, the difference in temperature can be of 10°C.
Animals: the water environment along the river and the surrounding rocks offer good living conditions for amphibians and reptiles, present with 6 and 12 species respectively; they represent the 45% of the species in the region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The diversity of environments in the Park positively influences the birds species: herons and wagtails are present along the river, blue rock thrushes and wallcreapers on the rocks, larks on the heath, woodpeckers and hawks in the wood. The roe deer is the most common mammal in the wood and the hare on the heath.