Settefrati bay and Salinelle beach (ITA020051)
Site type: SIC: Site of Community Interest
Code: ITA020051 - Hectares: 68
Description:
The Settefrati biotope includes a stretch of coast between Capo Plaia and Mazzaforno, in the territory of Cefalù, reachable only through paths and private access. From a geolithological point of view, the area is characterized by brownish-gray sandstones and marly clays (Oligocene-Lower Miocene) placed close to of marine terraces, while under the climatic aspect it falls within the lower sub-humid thermo-Mediterranean belt. This stretch of coast has so far escaped the?building expansion and subdivisions that have affected the coast between Cefalù and Palermo on a large scale thanks to the presence of a large estate that belonged to to the Ortolani Barons of Bordonaro, recently donated to the Municipality of Cefalù. The estate includes, among other things, the? Castello? - a fortified beam dating back to the XNUMXth century century with the adjoining church of Santa Felicita - and a large flat area occupied by centuries-old olive groves of particular value.
The area hosts one of the most intact and evocative coasts of the entire province of Palermo, including an extensive beach interspersed with rocky coves. Under the?vegetational aspect there is a significant aspect of sclerophyllous scrub (Myrto communis-Pistacietum lentisci) extended along the slopes behind the beach. AND? it should be noted that in Sicily similar aspects of sclerophyllous communities are today represented in an extremely fragmentary manner with the most representative localized in the south-eastern and southern areas of the island, while along the Tyrrhenian belt there are now only limited residual nuclei. In the area there are also nuclei of xero-halophilous scrub in Tamarix africana and strips of riparian vegetation in Populus nigra; psammophilic community (Salsolo-Cakiletum maritimae and Sporobolo arenarii-Agropyretum juncei) and halo-rupicolous have been found along the beach and in the rocky outcrops at its indoor. The bay in front of the beach has low sandy and rocky bottoms that host a Posidonia oceanica prairie and other interesting phytocoenoses. which is associated with a rich marine fauna. The rural landscape of the internal plateau is still intact and of particular landscape significance, being characterized by olive groves of high aesthetic and historical value. AND? to underline as the? Secular olive groves? have recently been proposed as a new habitat for inclusion in Annex I of Directive 92/43 / EEC, as constituents of the characteristic and historical landscape of the Mediterranean Region in bioclimate Thermo and Meso-Mediterranean. These agroecosystems also represent an important habitat for terrestrial fauna and avifauna
Source: Ministry of the Environment Natura 2000 form
Ministerial data: Natura 2000 form
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Photo: web
Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero, Region of Sicily
