The Forest of Massimina (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Bosco di Massimina''), is a forest located in Italy. It is a park that covers an area of about , located in the Massimina district of

Municipio XII Municipio XII is an administrative subdivision of the city of Rome. It was first created by Rome's City Council on 19 January 2001 and it has a president who is elected during the mayoral elections. Originally called ''Municipio XVI'', since 11 ...

in the

city of Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, in

central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central It ...

. Roma Giardini-ville-e-parchi-urbani: official Bosco di Massimina webpage
�� . accessed 9.17.2017. Parco Bosco di Massimina]— It was created in a former

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

site, that was used for gravel extraction for years, on Via Bartolomeo Chesi south of the

Via Aurelia The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cl ...

ring road in the Malagrotta area.

Restoration

The

habitat restoration Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

and

urban reforestation Urban reforestation is the practice of planting trees, typically on a large scale, in urban environments. It sometimes includes also urban horticulture and urban farming.

project began in 1998. The area has been completely regraded to create new hills and drainages to recover the original natural topography. It was then covered with a layer of

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matt ...

to support a restored

ecological system An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

, using ecocelles taken from the nearby estate of Castel di Guido. The plant species were selected to reestablish the natural environment quickly. Around 1500 new trees were planted on the site, including: 566 ''

Quercus pubescens ''Quercus pubescens'', the downy oak or pubescent oak, is a species of white oak (genus ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') native to southern Europe and southwest Asia, from northern Spain (Pyrenees) east to the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is also fou ...

'' (downy oak, pubescent oak,), 65 ''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...

fastigiata'' (columnar English oak), and 562 oaks of other ''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

'' species; 196 '' Acer'' (maples); 96 ''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

'' (willow); and several species of shrubs, such as:

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

privet A privet is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ligustrum''. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees, native species, native to Europe, north Africa, Asia, many in ...

, myrtle, and

cistus ''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean region ...

Recreation

of pathways go through the forest, including a fitness trail. The recreation area has benches, picnic tables, and a children's playground.

References

External links

YouTube.com: video of ''Bosco di Massimina''

Repubblica Roma.com: "Malagrotta citizens defend the Woods of Massimina"
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Wordpress: Massimina blog homepage
�� Parks in Rome Forests of Italy Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Rome Q. XII Gianicolense Ecological restoration Reforestation 1989 in the environment 1989 establishments in Italy Protected areas established in 1989 {{Park-stub

Restoration

Recreation

See also

References

External links