To protect and enhance this curious “mineral garden”, the Piedmont Region, in 1989, established a nature reserve covering an area of 64 hectares. The Ciciu are a natural formation present in various alpine areas but on the slopes of Monte San Bernardo, in the municipality of Villar San Costanzo, they take on unique connotations. Nowhere else does such a concentration of pinnacles exist, in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Individual formations such as “La torre” The Tower”, the highest one, which stands 10 metres tall, or “La famiglia” (The family), comprised of mum, dad and child. The Ciciu were formed through a process of selective superficial erosion of the slope on which the boulders of gneiss that have compressed and protected the underlying earth rest. A constantly evolving process that leads to the disappearance and appearance of new earth columns as time goes by.

Within the boundaries of the Reserve there is a picnic area,  an e-MTB rental service, playground equipment for children, panels on the local vegetation, the “Ciciu vagando” tourist trail, an hiking itinerary and the "fairytale path", an itinerary along Rio Bello canyon where children can play and discover animals thanks to 21 wooden sculptures made by Barba Brisu, a local artist.

The Reserve belongs to the Maritime Alps Protected Areas Authority, which has entrusted the management of visitor services and tourism to a temporary association (ATS) formed by the Valle Maira Tourism Consortium, Walden srl, and the Proloco of Villar San Costanzo. 

The entrance fee to the protected area is €4.00. Admission is free for children, seniors over 65, and people with disabilities, along with any accompanying persons.