Bernia´s Umbrian, in Benissa (Alicante -Spain) ,is a gated plot in a place that brings together floristic elements of great importance.
This natural space is located in the Sierra de Bernia y Ferrer, a set of coastal and pre-coastal mountain ranges, characterized by their rugged landscape. Located between the municipalities of Benissa, Jalón, Altea, Calpe, Alcalalí, Tàrbena and Callosa d’En Sarriá, it forms an individualized system of high landscape and environmental value.
The one called by the public administration Protected Landscape of the Sierra de Bernia y Ferrer , comprises an area of 2,843 hectares in the municipalities of Xaló and Besissa; It is in this last town where the plots acquired by Fundem are located.
Description
The closed barrier of the Sierra de Bernia, perpendicular to the coastline and sunk into the sea at its eastern end by the breakers of Morro de Toix, rises over the two Marinas as a natural dividing line. A ridge runs through the mountain range for almost its entire length, with an average sustained height of 900 meters, which has its highest elevation in the Bèrnia, at 1,129 meters above sea level.
The high altitude that these mountains reach, their ecological and morphological diversity, and proximity to the sea are the main factors that contribute to the existence of numerous habitats and species of flora and fauna, including numerous endemic species. Proof of the exceptional values that these mountains treasure is the fact that the area has been included among the Places of Community Interest (SCI) of the Valencian Community.
The human presence in the Sierra de Bernia y Ferrer dates back to ancient times. The mountainous interior of Las Marinas was one of the largest enclaves of the Valencian Muslim settlement. As examples of the heritage wealth of the natural space, product of the settlement of the various civilizations, we can mention the Fort de Bèrnia, the work of the Italian engineer Giovanni Battista Antonelli, a watchtower-castle located on the southern slopes of the Sierra de Bernia, on terraces at 850 meters elevation.
The Bernia Tower, at the top of the mountain, dating from the 13th century, can also be mentioned. More recent, although of high ethnological value, are the farmhouses, corrals and stone terraces,related to agricultural exploitation in the less steep areas of the space and relevant elements of the peculiar mountain landscape that characterizes the area.
In short, it is a space in which unique environmental and geomorphological characteristics converge, with a long history of human occupation, which has ultimately led to new and diverse environments of exceptional importance in the Valencian territorial context.
It is said that the ancient name of the mountain range was Verdiola, due to the greenness of the dense pine forests and the vegetation that covered it.
Cadastral data:
| Partida: | F. Escritura: | Valor € | Superficie | Pol: | Parcela: | Referencia Catastral |
| Umbría de Bérnia | 29/06/2008 | 16.000 € | 13.789 m2 | 52 | 506 | 03041A052005060000J1 |
| Umbría de Bérnia | 29/06/2008 | 6.800 € | 5.599 m2 | 52 | 147 | 3041A052004170000JM |