ITALY’S LAND OF INFINITE DISCOVERY ITALY’S LAND OF INFINITE DISCOVERY ITALY’S LAND OF INFINITE DISCOVERY Parks and nature reserves in The Marche region This initiative is promoted by Parks and nature reserves in Marche Regional Authority, Department of Internationalization, Culture, Tourism, Trade and Promotional Activities P.F. Tourism, trade and consumer protection The Marche region Manager: Pietro Talarico Organization: Marta Paraventi Editing: Cecilia Gobbi In collaboration with the Territorial – Environmental Services System of protected Areas, Environmental Education and Touring Network Alfredo Fermanelli (manager) Carlo Morbidoni (p.o.) Direction of the Parks and Nature Reserves in Marche The pdf file can be downloaded from: www.turismo.marche.it Graphical layout: Serena Moretti – Sassoferrato (AN) Photos: Images from the Marche Regional Authority Photographic Archives and from the Park Archives – Maurizio Bolognini pgs. 46, 48-49; Ennio Brilli p. 4 Daniele Maurizi pgs. 41, 42; Lorenzo Cicconi Massi p. 18; Alfonso Napolitano pgs. 28-29; Giorgio Pegoli p. 35; Claudio Ciabochi; Renzo Tortelli pgs. 38, 44-45; Mario Dondero; Ruggero Passeri p. 15, 54, 56; Renato Gatta pgs. 8, 26, 36, 39; Antonio Neroni; Giambattista Neroni p. 55; Patrizia Malizia p. 56; Carlo Urbinati p. 2; Photonica3 p. 11; Maurizio Anselmi pgs. 12, 14; Paolo Aprile pgs. 20-21; Piergiuseppe Novaga p. 25; Gabriella Romagnoli pgs. 58-59; Francesco Silvi pgs. 50, 52; Francesco Ribes. Printing: Tecnoprint srl - Ancona Marche Regional Authority Tourism Office - Department of Internationalization, Culture, Tourism, Trade and Promotional Activities P.F. Tourism, Trade and Consumers Care 60125 Ancona – Via Gentile da Fabriano, 9 Tel. +39 071 8062431 – Fax +39 071 8062154 www.turismo.marche.it [email protected] Toll-Free Number: +39 071 2133609 EMILIA ROMAGNA 4 PESARO Carpegna 5 HOW TO GET THERE URBINO TOSCANA MOTORWAY A 14 Bologna-Taranto 9 www.autostrade.it ANCONA ROADS Acqualagna SS 3 Flaminia - Roma-Fano (PU) SS 4 Salaria - Roma-Porto d’Ascoli (AP) Sirolo 10 Jesi SS 16 Adriatica - Padova-Otranto (LE) 3 SS 73 bis von BoccaTrabaria - San Giustino (AR)-Fano (PU) SS 76 Val d’Esino - Fossato di Vico (PG)-Falconara Alta (AN) SS 77 Val di Chienti - Foligno (PG)-Civitanova Marche (MC) ex SS 361 Septempedana - Ancona-Nocera Umbra (PG) Serra San Quirico ex SS 360 Arceviese - Senigallia (AN)-Scheggia-Pascelupo (PG) 6 MACERATA TRAIN UMBRIA Milano-Lecce line: Milano, Bologna, Ancona, Lecce Roma-Ancona line: Roma, Falconara M., Ancona 12 www.trenitalia.com San Severino Abbadia Marche di Fiastra FERMO BUS 8 The extra-urban transport system connects Marche to 12 Italian regions Camerino en.turismo.marche.it AIRPORT “Raffaello Sanzio” Airport of Marche Ancona/Falconara M. 7 1 Domestic and international connections San Benedetto www.marcheairport.com Visso del Tronto ASCOLI PICENO 11 PORT OF ANCONA Connections to: Albania, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Turkey www.doricaportservices.it VISIT MARCHE LAZIO Arquata del Tronto TOURIST PORTS en.turismo.marche.it ABRUZZO Gabicce Mare, Pesaro, Fano, Senigallia, Ancona, 2 Numana, Civitanova Marche, Porto S. Giorgio, 1. Monti Sibillini National Park S. Benedetto del Tronto Toll-Free Number 2. Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park en.turismo.marche.it +39 071 2133609 3. Conero Regional Nature Park 4. Monte San Bartolo Regional Nature Park 5. Sasso Simone e Simoncello Interregional Nature Park 6. Gola della Rossa and Frasassi Regional Nature Park 7. Montagna di Torricchio State Nature Reserve 8. Abbadia di Fiastra State Nature Reserve 9. Gola del Furlo State Nature Reserve Discovery Marche Discovery Marche 10. Ripa Bianca Regional Nature Reserve 11. Sentina Regional Nature Reserve 12. Monte San Vicino and Monte Canfaito Regional Nature Reserve A region of infinite discovery Parks and nature reserves in The Marche region PARKS AND NATURE RESERVES IN THE MARCHE REGION In the collective imagination, the territo- ry of the Marche region is usually linked to hills and to a rural landscape, but we must not forget that 30% of this region’s surface area is characterized by moun- tains, offering visitors an environment that is still intact and one of outstanding natural beauty. An experience in the mountains of the Marche region is much more than merely losing yourself in the unspoiled nature of the great summits, wild gorges, spectacular caves, wooded slopes and snow- capped peaks. You will also discover traces left by monks and hermits as well as ancient Picentine, Roman, Lombard and Byzantine settlements and you will relive the experience of a journey into the memory and the roots of this land, whe- re the work of man is perfectly integrated with nature. In Marche, over 90,000 hectares of its territory, meaning al- most 10% of the region’s surface area, is protected; this is almost totally made up of mountainous areas: two national parks (the Monti Sibillini National Park and the Gran Sas- so and Monti della Laga National Park), four regional parks (Mount Conero, Sasso Simone e Simoncello, Monte San Bartolo and Gola della Rossa e di Frasassi), six nature reser- ves (Abbadia di Fiastra, Torricchio mountain, Ripa Bianca, Sentina, Gola del Furlo and Monte San Vicino e Monte Can- faito) more than 100 floristic areas, 103 locations listed in the Natura 2000 European Network, of which 76 are listed as Sites of Community Interest (SCI) and 27 are Special Protec- tion Areas (SPA), and 44 Environmental Education Centres. The vegetation in the nature reserves along the coastal are- as, such as that of Mount Conero, is Mediterranean shrub, featuring, in particular, the Holm oak, the strawberry tree, the Mediterranean buckthorn, the Phillyrea and the Mastic. In the hilly area, the Downy oak is the dominant species, although in some areas, such as the Park of Sasso Simone e Simoncello, you will see vast forests of Turkey oak, while the Manna ash is dominant in the calcareous substrates. 3 At higher elevations you will come across seums and various Visitor Centres in the beech woods, first mixed, then single-spe- protected areas throughout the territory cies and then the high-altitude grasslands. (Abbadia di Fiastra, Amandola, Apecchio, As for the wildlife, numerous species are Ascoli, Fermo, Genga, Ostra, Piobbico, still present today, including the wolf, the Serra San Quirico, Pioraco, Smerillo; the deer, the roe deer, the porcupine and, in the Earth Science Museum of Piandimeleto, the heart of the Monti Sibillini, also the chamois, Avifauna Museum of Sarnano and Monte- which was reintroduced in 2008. Among fortino), meet the demands of the most de- the birds, you will find the golden eagle, manding scholars. the Lanner falcon, the Peregrine falcon, the But the tourist attractions do not end red-billed chough and the eagle owl. In the here: How can we forget the rich variety of protected areas, it is possible to go hiking food and wine featuring dishes and spe- on foot, on horseback or by mountain-bike, cialities handed down by rural tradition, with itineraries organized by the numerous not to mention numerous possibilities to Centres of Environmental Education (CEE). visit exhibitions, attend festivals, see en- You can also engage in other sporting ac- tertaining shows and evocative historical tivities, like climbing and free flight, as well re-enactments or take part in sports, such as some more adventurous water sports in as horse-riding, mountain bike riding, hi- the mountain streams, such as rafting, ca- king, climbing, skiing, canoeing and hang noeing, kayaking and canyoning. The mu- gliding? 5 MONTI SIBILLINI NATIONAL PARK In the heart of Italy, between Marche and by the waters in which the Grotta dei Frati is Umbria, stand the towering Monti Sibillini located, an ancient and evocative hermita- mountains with over twenty peaks exceeding ge of the Clareni monks, dating back to the 2,000 metres and reaching a height of 2,476 year 1000. Moving along the river, upstream m with Monte Vettore. Established in 1993, of Lake Fiastra, you will reach the Acqua- the park covers a territory of almost 70,000 santa valley with its beautiful waterfalls and hectares, shaped by the forces of nature and Grotta dell’Orso (Cave of the Bear), the painted intermittently by thousands of years name of which also signifies the presence of of history and local culture. Here, you can still this species in the Sibillini mountains. perceive the magical presence of the legen- dary Sybil and the memories of ancient ne- FLORA cromantic rites that linger, in this place where The vegetation tends, as if by magic, to fascinating legends are handed down. change gradually as you move from the basement rise, located at an average alti- THE TERRITORY tude of 500 m, to the higher peaks. Up to The Monti Sibillini is a mountain range of approximately 1,000 m, Downy oak, Hop mainly calcareous origin that has been hornbeam and Manna ash woods are predo- deeply shaped by the action of glaciers in minant, after which there are beech woods, the Quaternary Period, traces of which are first mixed and then pure. Above the treeli- recognizable in the beautiful glacial cirques ne that reaches as far up as 1,700 m, there of Monte Vettore, Monte Bove, the upper are natural pastures where you can find very Ambro Valley, the Val di Tela (Monte Roton- rare and precious species like the Martagon do) and the U-shaped valleys below. Be- lily, Viola Eugeniae, white Dryas, Apennine neath the summit of Monte Vettore, at 1,940 Edelweiss, Artemisia, anemone, Apennine m, is Lago di Pilato, the only natural lake in Gentiana, Bearberry and the Dwarf willow, Marche and one of the few alpine glacial la- which is considered the smallest tree in the kes in the Apennines. world.