Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park
The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, with its 150,000 hectares, is one of the largest not only in Italy, but in all of Europe. It extends across three regions: Abruzzo, Lazio, and Marche, encompassing five provinces: Teramo, L'Aquila, Pescara, Ascoli Piceno, and Rieti. Its 44 municipalities and their countless hamlets, nestled in the unspoiled and uncontaminated nature and with their architectural and cultural features, constitute the fundamental stages of an unforgettable journey.
The landscape of the Park is It is predominantly mountainous and includes three mountain groups - the Gran Sasso d'Italia chain, the Laga massif, and the Monti Gemelli - and is characterized by the presence of the highest peak in the Apennines, the Corno Grande, which reaches 2,912 meters. This chain also contains the only Apennine glacier, the Calderone, the southernmost in Europe. The succession of high-altitude peaks is extraordinary: over 50 kilometers of sharp, airy ridges, dizzying rock faces, slender towers, peaks and summits, gorges and valleys, gentle slopes and rugged slopes, and endless plateaus; the only "interruption" is the The most striking feature of the park is the Capannelle Pass (1300 m), which, located approximately halfway, connects the limestone and dolomite of the Gran Sasso with the sandstone of the Monti della Laga. Along the 50 kilometers of this "sky-high" route, nature reveals itself in some of its most peculiar forms, and the landscape, already evocative and spectacular in itself, preserves, among its countless folds, extraordinary plants, extremely rare animals, and testimonies of past glacial periods.
The Park's symbolic animal is the Apennine chamois, since, a hundred years after the ungulate's extinction on the Gran Sasso, a reintroduction project has led it to recolonize the mountains, where today there are approximately 500 individuals. The protected area's wildlife also includes other large herbivores, such as deer and roe deer, and their predator par excellence, the Apennine wolf. Birdlife includes rare raptors such as the golden eagle, goshawk, peregrine falcon, lanner falcon, and eagle owl. The diversity The naturalistic richness of its massifs and diverse slopes, the evocative historical and architectural testimonies are reflected in a multitude of proposals, itineraries, and visits for all seasons of the year.
The Park's numbers
150,000 hectares
3 Regions: Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche
5 Provinces: Teramo, L'Aquila, Pescara, Ascoli Piceno, Rieti
44 Municipalities
- Province of Teramo: Arsita, Campli, Castelli, Civitella del Tronto, Cortino, Crognaleto, Fano Adriano, Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia, Montorio al Vomano, Pietracamela, Rocca Santa Maria, Torricella Sicura, Tossicia, Valle Castellana.
- Province of L'Aquila: Barete, Barisciano, Cagnano Amiterno, Calascio, Campotosto, Capestrano, Capitignano, Carapelle Calvisio, Castel del Monte, Castelvecchio Calvisio, L'Aquila, Montereale, Ofena, Pizzoli, Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi
- Province of Pescara: Brittoli, Bussi sul Tirino, Carpineto della Nora, Castiglione a Casauria, Civitella Casanova, Corvara, Farindola, Montebello di Bertona, Villa Celiera
- Province of Ascoli Piceno: Acquasanta Terme, Arquata del Tronto
- Province of Rieti: Accumoli, Amatrice
51 emergencies Flora
59 wild orchids
2 carnivorous plants
2,651 recorded plants
139 Italian endemics
12 endemics of the Park
6 pairs of golden eagles
150 deer
622 Apennine chamois
80 wolves - 13 breeding populations
