Riserva Naturale Macchia di Gattaceca e Macchia del Barco

The territory of the Reserve is situated within the administrative borders of three Municipalities (Mentana, Monterotondo, Sant'Angelo Romano) offering the opportunity to carry out pleasant walks at the discovery of past evidences.
Mentana conserves different historical evidences, among which the ruins of the ancient Nomentum, destroyed by the Normans in 1059. In the Middle Ages it became the fortress and the dominion of families like Crescenzi, Orsini, Pereti, Borghese who left evidences of their presence in Palazzo Borghese (15th century) and Palazzo Crescenzio (9th century).
The Church of S. Nicola (13th century) is also worth a visit, with its beautiful Romanesque belltower preserving inside a 16th-century fresco representing S. Sebastiano. In 1867 Mentana was the theater of a battle between the French and pontifical troops and the soldiers of Garibaldi who were defeated, as it is recalled in the National Museum of the Campagna dell'Agro Romano per la Liberazione di Roma. In Mentana there are also two other museums which are worth a visit: the Natural and Environmental Sciences Museum and the Museum of the Theatrical Masks and of the Puppets Theater.