The ministerial decree of 29 March 1972 that created the Agromonte Spacciaboschi reserve was not written to protect trees: it was written to protect what the trees cover, the medieval site of Agromonte. That is why it is classed as an anthropological reserve, the Italian category for areas whose value lies in human traces as much as in vegetation. A decree of the same date created another one a few kilometres away, I Pisconi, leaving Filiano with two reserves of the kind inside its boundaries. Agromonte Spacciaboschi takes up 71 hectares of the Lagopesole state forest, near the hamlet of Scalera, at 751 metres above sea level.
What to see
The ground is one of the terraces overlooking the Vitalba valley, sloping away eastward: you arrive on the level and then, on one side only, the valley opens all at once. The wood is Turkey oak and downy oak, with hawthorn, hornbeam and cornelian cherry in the undergrowth. It is dense and closed, which is also why the traces of the medieval settlement are sensed rather than seen: no ruin rises above the canopy here, there is a wooded plateau that needs reading alongside someone who knows it.
The wildlife is that of the state forest around: wild boar, badgers, hares, foxes and hedgehogs among the trees, birds of prey by day and by night overhead. Among the birds the easiest to pick out are the woodpecker, the jay, the robin, the nightingale and the hoopoe.
Visiting
There is no walking in unannounced. Every entry, whether for study, research or tourism, requires prior authorisation from the Carabinieri Biodiversity Unit of Potenza, the command that manages the state forest, and guided visits are arranged the same way. Allow time for the paperwork: turning up at the edge of the wood hoping someone will open up gets you nowhere.
Our editors' tip
When you apply, put in writing that the medieval site is what interests you, not just the path: that is what the area has been protected for since 1972, and it is the part you may well cross without noticing unless someone points it out. And if you are given a date, keep the whole day free: I Pisconi is a few kilometres off and works on the same principle, permit first.