| Summary: | The present study was aimed to deepen the knowledge on diet and on feeding preferences of the Italian roe deer. The research was carried on in the Castelporziano Presidential Estate, a protected area of Latium coast. Quadrat method was used to assess plant frequency, whereas diet composition was determined by fecal micro-histological analysis. A total of 143 plant species were identified in the site and 109 of them were found in the feces of the <i>Capreolus capreolus italicus</i>. All over the year, most of the <i>taxa</i> were ingested in low percentages (≤5%) and the most utilized plant species were <i>Quercus suber</i>, <i>Prunus spinosa</i>, <i>Rubia peregrina</i>, and <i>Crateaegus monogyna</i>. Fagaceae and Rosaceae plant families represented the bulk of the diet and were positively selected. In addition, a positive selection on Fabaceae and Oleaceae families was found in wet season but not in dry one. In both periods the Italian roe deer showed a positive selection for deciduous woody plants and evergreen woody plants, instead avoided wild forbs and wild graminoids. Our results confirmed that this subspecies behaved as a generalist highly selective feeder.
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