Rocche Bianche, nature reserve in Liguria, Italy

Rocche Bianche is a nature reserve in the province of Savona spanning over a thousand hectares, shared by five small towns. The terrain features beech forests in lower areas, rocky plant communities on poor soils, and open spaces that create diverse habitats for different species.

The protected area was established by the province of Savona and covers 1,168 hectares across Quiliano, Vado Ligure, Orco Feglino, Vezzi Portio and Mallare. Its bedrock belongs to the Gorra Schists, fine light-coloured metasediments of Permo-Carboniferous age, largely volcanic in origin, with layers several hundred metres thick. Outcrops are often bare or covered by a detrital layer up to about 4 metres deep.

The name Rocche Bianche means "white crags", rendered Rocche Gianche in Ligurian, after the pale Gorra Schists that outcrop across the slopes. The protected area, 1,168 hectares across Quiliano, Vado Ligure, Orco Feglino, Vezzi Portio and Mallare, is valued locally for its orchids, which flower in the dry, stony meadows.

Visitors should wear good hiking shoes and bring water, especially on warm days, as the terrain is rocky and uneven. There are no major facilities in the reserve, so plan ahead and start early, particularly in summer when temperatures can rise quickly.

Beech woods and heather stands grow here at unusually low altitudes, just above the sea, because slope exposure and rock type vary so much. The reserve also holds the Savona bellflower (Campanula sabatia), a priority species under EU Directive 92/43/CEE, and the paleo-Mediterranean relict Convolvulus sabatius.