Qala Mayor Paul Buttigieg, recently visited the Canale Monterano Nature Reserve, located in Lazio, Italy (Qala’s twinning partner).

During his visit with the reserve director, Mayor Buttigieg said that he “couldn’t help but feel emotional because this type of reserve has always been my dream for the Hondoq area, but obviously on a much smaller scale.”

He stressed that “Hondoq ir-Rummien should be full of trees especially, its name sake the pomegranates.”

The Monterano Nature Reserve was established in 1988 and covers an area of just over 1,000 hectares, rich in biodiversity and natural environments crossed by the Mignone River, included in the list of Sites of Community Interest (SIC).

Its hilly woods, volcanic ravines, pastures and meadows are home to numerous animal and plant species, some of which are rare.