Acquerino reserve, State nature reserve in Sambuca Pistoiese, Italy.

Acquerino reserve is a protected natural area in the Apennines above Sambuca Pistoiese, stretching between 880 and 1300 meters in elevation. The landscape consists of broad beech forests, conifer woods, and mountain meadows crossed by several small streams.

The reserve began taking shape in the 1930s when the State Forestry Corps started reforestation programs with Douglas firs. These efforts transformed previously bare areas into the dense forests that now define the landscape.

Charcoal kilns, or carbonaie, once turned the reserve's beech woods into a resource: their remains are still visible along the trails. The reserve was created in 1977 to make forest resources more available to local smallholders, and today it conserves Douglas fir and produces seed for forest nurseries.

The reserve spans from Ponte Rigoli at 880 m to Monte La Croce at 1,319 m, so trails climb steadily and the highest ground is reached only on foot. Charcoal-burning remains (carbonaie) lie beside the paths. A historic weather station stands at 890 m and an automatic ARSIA station, active since 1996, at 900 m.

The beech woods were once worked for charcoal: along the trails you can still make out the flat, dark remains of the charcoal kilns where wood was slowly burned. Deer, reintroduced from the 1950s, are now abundant, and the reserve also monitors them and surveys medieval ruins.