MAJELLA NATIONAL PARK
The Majella National Park has more holy places per square kilometre than anywhere in the world, except Tibet. It is one of the 13 Parks established across Europe in 1998 by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (formerly the WWF). Their aim is to protect these important areas of outstanding natural beauty that are important refuges for some of Europe’s rarest species.
The Majella is Europe’s largest protected area, the 74,095 hectares of unique mountainous terrain is home to an amazing rich array of wildlife, nearly half of all mammal species found in Italy are present in the Majella. The Apennine wolf, wild boar, red deer, roe deer, wild cats, otters, chamois and brown bear are all found in the Majella.
The park hosts one third of the entire Italian flora, there are over 2,000 species of plants in the Majella. That’s 36% of Italy’s flora, 22% of Europe’s – and a whopping 11% is found nowhere else on earth.
GRAN SASSO NATIONAL PARK
The Gran Sasso contains the highest mountain in central Italy at 2,912 metres and the plateau of Campo Imperatore, (little Tibet) a large and beautiful high-altitude grassland.
More than 2,000 species of plants live in the different areas of the park, from prairies and pastures to woods. The undergrowth is rich in colours and the aromas of raspberries and wild orchids.
When it comes to wildlife, the Gran Sasso is considered the kingdom of the Abruzzo chamois. But also to be found are deer, roe deer and the Apennine wolf – as well as many rare birds of prey such as golden eagles, peregrine falcons and eagle owls – that call the area home.
THE ABRUZZO, LAZIO AND MOLISE NATIONAL PARK
Established in 1922 to protect nature and to save wild animals from extinction, the Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo is Abruzzo’s oldest park. Its 50,000 hectares extend into the Lazio and Molise regions, hence its full name.
This is the ideal place to spot certain species such as the Marsican brown bear (the parks’ symbol), golden eagle, wolf, wild boar, red and roe deer, otter and the Abruzzo chamois that have made their home amongst the remote valleys and inaccessible mountains. There are many rare and endemic species of flora which include the Black Vanilla orchid and the Venus Lady’s Slipper orchid.
The park’s landscape is mountainous, although the peaks are not very high. The highest, the Petroso mountain reaches 2,249 metres.
SIRENTE VELINO REGIONAL PARK
The Sirente Velino is the third highest mountain massif in the Apennines after the Gran Sasso and Majella and hosts the Sirente Velino Regional Park in the province of L’Aquila, Abruzzo. The massifs are very different in terms of vegetation; the Sirente located in the central Eastern part of the park has extensive and diverse flora whilst the Velino in the western part of the park is void of showy vegetation and has semi-desert areas. Here you will also find the 3rd largest peak of the Apeninnes, Monte Velino at 2487m. This area is a truly enchanting and wild setting, an ideal habitat for the diverse flora and fauna found in Central Italy.
