Brochure_SR_SS2019

THE MONTECRISTO TREASURE
Tenente Colonnello Giovanni Quilghini
Comandante del Reparto Carabinieri per la Biodiversità di Follonica
Without displeasing the loyal readers of Alexandre Dumas,
I know that the true treasure of Montecristo consists
in the balance - unique in its kind - of a harsh and wild
territory. This is why the D.M. of March 4 th , 1971, had
foresight to establish the island as a Nature Reserve, which
was then recharacterised as a Biogenetic Reserve (D.M.,
December 12 th , 1977). Montecristo is a magmatic mass
that consolidated between 7.3 and 5.1 million years ago,
located halfway between the peninsula of Monte Argentario
and Corsica. In 1988 the island was awarded the Diplome
Européen del Consiglio d’Europa for Protected Areas due
to its ecological and morphological characteristics. In
recent years, noteworthy studies have been carried out on
this pearl within the marvelous territory of the Arcipelago
Toscano National Park (DPR, July 22 nd , 1996).
For those who, like myself, have had the honour and the
duty of commanding the Raggruppamento Carabinieri
Biodiversità, Follonica Department, Montecristo is always
one of the most delicate missions in the territory. It is the
successor of the extraordinary effort made over the years
by the State Forestry Corp, which then merged into the
Carabinieri. A specific task has been handed down to
us: to defend an area of 10.4 square kilometres, and a
coastal development comprising of 16 kilometres. Indeed,
a proper presence intends a profound intervention in the
preservation of the island’s natural heritage and in the
eradication of any foreign elements that may threaten
it today, all exercised under strict control. I refer here to
Ailanthus, a deciduous tree in the Simaroubaceae family
which is thought to have origins in China, in the Maluku
Islands and in North Vietnam. It is, therefore, not a native
species. It was introduced to Europe in the first half of the
eighteenth century and has since then begun an incessant
process of colonisation of bare, over-populated and
consumed areas, proving to be lethal for natural habitats.
It is a tree that produces substances that are toxic to plants
of different species. It was reported on the island for the
first time by Stefano Sommier in 1898. One of our firsts
tasks has therefore been to monitor its diffusion (equal to
over 180 hectares), carry out preliminary tests and proceed
with eradication through four methodologies linked to the
characteristics of the plant.
We have also done something else to make this island, with
its almost elliptical shape, an authentic nature sanctuary.
We have identified and studied 73 different species of
epigeal macromycetes. We have mapped the asperity of the
porphyroid granite spurs that enhance the natural beauty
of peaks such as the Monte della Fortezza (645 metres
above sea level), the Cima di Collo dei Lecci (563 msl),
and including such evocative names as the impenetrable
Punta del Diavolo. We have reinforced paths around these
reference points, reserved for those who want to face
the perilous walkways with their unfathomable beauty
(always accompanied by our specialised personnel): from
a comfortable visit at the Villa del Re to the ruins of the
Monastery. We attempt to maintain the charm of the land
that was so loved by Watson Taylor (owner of the island in
the 1800s), the Marquis Ginori and the royal family who
desired to create a hunting reserve on the island.
At the dawn of the 1970s, Montecristo was known as
the island of rats because of the proliferation of black rat
that threatened the ecosystem as well as the lives in the
nests of the Manx shearwater birds. It took us two years
to eradicate, and to restore a more natural balance for the
birds on the island.
We did not do this for approval, but for the duty that we
cultivate towards the creation that is also a marine reserve.
Among our tasks is also that of standardising access to
visitors on the island of Montecristo, which was included
in zone 1 in 1996, with a limit of 1,000 annual visits using
boats that respect access to the protected range which
reaches the small port in Cala Maestra where two of our
agents may verify the regular conduct of permitted activities
and deal with the popularisation of the natural settings.
Every fifteen days, we alternate between two soldiers who
are stationed to protect this unique place who, through
dedication and passion, allow the island of Montecristo to
reveal itself in its irrepressible beauty.