Riserva naturale orientata Bosco di Santo Pietro, Nature reserve in Caltagirone and Mazzarrone, Italy

Riserva naturale orientata Bosco di Santo Pietro is a protected area covering roughly 6,500 hectares on a sandy plateau with valleys and elevations above 390 meters. The landscape is crossed by marked trails that connect different sections through the terrain.

In 1160 Norman King Roger I granted the forest, together with the Baronia di Fetanasimo, to the people of Caltagirone as a reward for their help against the Saracens; it then covered 30,000 hectares. Over the centuries fires, illegal grazing and poaching reduced it, and the orientated nature reserve was established in 1999 to halt the decline.

The Mediterranean Scrub Museum in a renovated building within the reserve displays exhibits about local vegetation and regional ecosystems. Visitors can learn how the plant life connects to the natural conditions of the landscape.

The reserve has marked hiking trails open year-round, with spring and autumn offering the best conditions for observing wildlife. Sturdy footwear and plenty of water are especially important because of the sandy and hilly terrain.

A census by the Fondo Siciliano per la Natura recorded about fifty cork oaks and carob trees with trunks over three metres around. In contrada Molara one cork oak still measures 6.2 metres; the holm oak woods at Molara, Coste Stella, Coste Chiazzina and Vaccarizzo are denser than the cork groves.