BOSCO DELLA BARONIA

The wood which covers the top of mount Baronia, extends over almost 67 hectares and reaches a height of 630m above sea level; it is managed by the Azienda Forestale.
The small road which goes up to the left leads to a storeroom of the Forestale, from here Mount Polizzo, Vita and Montagna Grande can  be admired; the road going up to the right, however  leads to a small equipped area with a “neviere”, a concave construction in the form of an upside down cone in which large quantities of winter snow were amassed, insulated with layers of straw and earth so that it would last a long time and could be used as a water resource or be sold as ice in summer. One has now been transformed into a small lake.
From the square of the equipped area, a series of roads which can be followed by cars, lead to the inside of the wood where it is possible, in certain panoramic areas, to admire the Temple of Segesta, the Garibaldi monument of Pianto Romano, Rocca Busambra and Mount Bonifato.
Inside the wood, which is predominantly coniferous with trees belonging to the Pinus, Cedrus, Cupressus, species and where there is also the presence of Robinias characterised by quick growth, strips of ancient oak wood with the relative floristic accompaniment still exist. In fact on the sides of the provincial road leading from Calatafimi to Vita one can admire impressive specimens of Quercus virgiliana (chestnut oak).
Other than the oak, there are also Rosa canina, Crataegus monogyna, Daphne laureola, Prunus spinosa, Rubus ulmifolius, Calicotome infesta, Asparagus acutifolius, Ruscus aculeatus, Cytisus villosus, Lonicera etrusca, Erica arborea making up the shrub layer. Between the branches one can observe the jay, with a pink coloured body and a white back, a long black tail and white and light blue wings, of a shy temperament, but which reveals its presence with its raucous song.