Castelfusano is an urban park in the comune of Rome. It divides the sea quarter of Ostia and the neighborhood of Casalpalocco. The castle and the park were founded in the 17th century by the Sacchetti family.[1] Its vegetation consists mainly in a forest of colossal Maritime Pines and olm oaks (near the seaside). In the 18th century, the Sacchetti sold the property to the Chigi, who sold it in 1933 to the commune of Rome. In the park is still visible a stretch of the ancient Via Severiana. The park's vegetation was largely destroyed by arson in July 2000.[2]
The area has been rich in game and birds since ancient times. In some periods, excessive hunting exploitation led local authorities to issue hunting bans for neighboring populations; for example, on 5 June 1277 there was a "ban on fowling and transit without authorisation". The Sacchetti family later restored the authorization "to bird and hunt wild boars, roe deer, deer, hares, porcupines, and hedgehogs", but the activity was probably excessive given that a century later a chirograph of Pope Benedict XIII re-established the hunting reserve with severe penalties for those who violated it.
In 1986 a study was carried out on the fauna by Italia Nostra, but studies had already been carried out on the avifauna, in particular between 1930 and 1938 by the Ornithological Observatory of Castelfusano. Rare insect species can also be encountered.
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