This mountain area is very close to the Ligurian seacoast and the vegetation varies, in just in a few kilometres, from the Mediterranean Maquis to the beech forests of the mountain belt.

Since prehistory, the populations who lived in this region widely influenced the development of the landscapes that we can observe nowadays. In the last centuries, the use of the natural resources changed in various ways in different parts of the area, and the abandonment of historical silvo-agro-pastoral occurred widely.

This study area spans from the hilly periphery of Genova to the municipalities of Borzonasca (Pian delle Moglie, Perlezzi, Caroso, Caregli), and Rezzoaglio (various places Riserva Agoraie, Bosco Fontana, Pian delle Rocche). The sites of the Entella river basin, including the Sturla valley with the study sites of Perlezzi (Borzonasca) and the study sites of the Aveto valley and Trebbia valley, included in the Po plain basin, with Lago degli Abeti (Rezzoaglio).

The focus of the research will be on three main groups of sites: the “Montagna di Fascia”, that includes various places and areas on the hillsides of Monte Fasce and Monte Bastia (Colanesi, Orsiggia, Lumarzo, Fascia, Stallini) and, to the east, Monte Becco (Case Becco).