page_title: Province of Mantua
section_title: Protected areas
hierarchical_section_title: Province of Mantua / Protected areas
caption_attribution_description: Rivalta
context_page_description: The Province of Mantua is a province in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Mantua. It is bordered to the north-east by the Province of Verona, to the east by that of Rovigo, to the south by those of Ferrara, Modena, Reggio Emilia and Parma, to the west by the Province of Cremona and to the north-west by that of Brescia.
context_section_description: There are a number of nature reserves and protected areas in the province. The Parco regionale del Mincio was established on 8 September 1984 with an area of approximately 16,000 hectares. It includes several nature reserves and has a range of habitats including moraines,  hills, plains, and the meandering riverbeds in the complex of lakes of Mantua. Birds found in the park include storks, herons, purple herons, egrets, night herons, kingfishers, bee-eaters, coots, moorhens, peregrine falcons, hawks, great crested grebe and black kite.
  The Parco dell'Oglio Sud is another regional park that lies on the boundary of the province with the province of Cremona. It was established in 1988 and has an area of about 12,800 hectares.  It is a river park that runs along the stretch of the river Oglio which forms the boundary. It lies to the south of Lake Iseo and the administrative centre is at Calvatone. Birds present in this park include great egret, grey heron, Montagu's harrier, Eurasian scops owl, bearded reedling, woodcock, barred warbler, crested lark, sedge warbler, moustached warbler, little egret, Eurasian hobby and ferruginous duck.
  The Riserva naturale Bosco Fontana is a state nature reserve with an area of about 23,300 hectares. It is a wooded area that is a remnant of the natural forests that covered the Po valley in ancient times. It is a dense marshy forest composed mainly of Turkey oaks, pedunculate oaks, hornbeams, limes, poplars, elms and alders, which are accompanied by numerous species of shrubby undergrowth. There are glades with abundant wildflowers and fungi flourish among the trees, an important factor being the richness of the groundwater. Among the mammals found in the reserve are the least weasel, beech marten and European polecat, and the birds include the common buzzard, the great spotted woodpecker and the Eurasian wryneck.
caption: Mincio river in the countryside.
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