La Montagnola Molisana

The "Montagnola Molisana" is a Site of Community Interest that extends for 4000 hectares in the municipalities of Frosolone, Macchiagodena, Carpinone, Sessano del Molise, Civitanova del Sannio, Chiauci, Santa Maria del Molise and Sant'Elena Sannita. The structure of the mountain plateau is characterized by calcareous rocks rich in fossil organisms of the Cretaceous, the altitudes vary from 1200 to 1400 m above sea level.
The landscape is rich in typical karst forms such as dolines, swallow holes and rocks carved by grooves of various sizes and shapes, in some cases hosting mountain lakes. The landscape is very interesting from an environmental point of view, the forest type is represented, for the most part, by oak trees with a prevalence of turkey oaks and downy oaks. Other deciduous species are ash, rowan, blackthorn and rose. At higher altitudes there are large forests of beech.
The fauna is represented by the typical species of the wooded and grassland mountain ecosystems, among the invertebrates are reported, the colorful Rosalia Alpina and the Great Capricorn. In the woods are present the wolf and the marten, while the avifauna is represented by the sparrow hawk, the buzzard, the honey buzzard, the eagle owl, the red woodpecker, the titmouse, the creepers. In the meadows are observed the lark, the swallow, the rufous-tailed godwit, the chough. In the gorges and on the steep rocky walls nest the peregrine falcon and the lanner.