Biodiverse Albiano

<p>An extremely varied route from the historic centre to Lago di Santa Colomba, from the Le Grave biotope to high altitude meadows</p>

<p>Albiano is famous for the quarrying which led to it being one of the world’s most important centres of porphyry cube, slab and tile extraction. There is, however, a less well-known face of Albiano. It is a patchwork of biodiversity rich places worth exploring at a relaxed pace.</p> <p>This itinerary covers a great variety of unusual environments. From the starting point of Albiano historic town centre it climbs up into the mountains through Scots pine and broad leaved tree forests to Lake Santa Colomba and the historic Canopi mines. This attractive lake is a vital biotope for the breeding of many reptile and amphibian species, with thousands of frogs and toads coming here from the surrounding woods every year to mate and lay their eggs. Trout, pike, rudd, tench and carp also live in its waters. Unusual plants such as yellow iris – a wonderful large flowered iris – and menyanthes, a wonderful pinkish-white flowering aquatic plant, also grow on it.</p> <p>The route then continues to the small protected area called Le Grave with its surprising bonsai trees and, lastly, to Albiano through open meadows and mixed spruce, oak, beech and chestnuts forests once a fundamentally important part of the local economy and now centre-stage players in an important reclamation project.</p>