Imagine driving out of New York City
at 10 am and being in Yellowstone Park by noon. If that idea appeals to you,
and you are in Rome, or you are planning a vacation there, consider the
National Park of Abruzzo.
You can take the A24 autostrada from Rome for about 50 miles, exit onto the
A25 "Strada dei Parchi" (Parks expressway) and then get off at the
Pratola - Peligna exit, and drive to Sulmona.
The trip begins in Sulmona (403 mts above sea-level), a town
situated in the heart of the Peligna valley. The town, which is
well-known as the birthplace of Ovidio, the poet of love, is known
nowadays as being the land of confetti (there is also a museum of
confetti). Its many fine monuments date back, mostly, to the
economic and cultural heyday of the town, during the XIV and XV
centuries The Natural History Museum of the Mountain Community,
with its entomological section containing almost 7,000 examples of
local insects, is worth a visit.
The next stop is the town of the snake-catchers, Cocullo, whose
residents have combined the millenary Marsican traditions with the
Christian devotion to S. Domenico. From here the trip continues on
the provincial road to Ortona dei Marsi, going through a karst
depression area. Then it reaches Bisegna passing through the
lovely Giovenco valley, and from here it ends up in the heart of
the National-Park, i.e. the town of Pescasseroli.
Still proceeding
along the Sangro valley, the tour touches Opi and afterwards the
town of Villetta Barrea, whose artificial lake hears the same
name. The tour starts back from the lake of Barrea and, following
the S.S. (State road) n. 479, it climbs the -mountains through the
woods of Scalone up to the pass of Monte Godi and then it descends
to the town and lake of Scanno.
Here it is worth making a stop and taking a walk in the narrow
streets, many of which contain the typical fights of steps. In
this way you can admire the characteristic women's clothes of
oriental origin that some elcerly women still wear, especially of
holiday. And you can also do some shopping in the goldsmith's
shops. After leaving Scanno, the tazir goes through Villalago and,
at the end of the Sagittario Valley, Anversa degli Abruzzi, the
town where D'Annunzio's play "La fiaccola sotto il moggio" is set.
After driving 20 more kilometers the trip ends back in Sulmona.
Fauna
The Park is
inhabited by bears, chamois, wolves, deer. The symbol of the Park
is the Marsican Brown Bear, which represented, until recently, an
endangered species. At present, this danger seems to have been
averted, thanks to the punctual protection activity of the Park
Board. Indeed, there are about 80 examples of bear living both in
the Park area and in the nearby mountains. The Board of the
National Park of Abruzzo has also taken several initiatives about
other areas.
An example of this activity is represented by the Operation
Chamois that has favored the reappearance of this mountain goat
even on the Eastern Majella and the Gran Sasso.
There are about 40 wolves living in the Park. The Operation San
Francesco (started 20 years ago) has made possible the creation of
a Tour Information center dedicated to them and a special Faunal
Area.
At the moment an investigation is going on to find out whether it
is possible to introduce again the Lynx in the Park.
The Park is
inhabited by bears, chamois, wolves, deer. The symbol of the Park
is the Marsican Brown Bear, which represented, until recently, an
endangered species. At present, this danger seems to have been
averted, thanks to the punctual protection activity of the Park
Board. Indeed, there are about 80 examples of bear living both in
the Park area and in the nearby mountains. The Board of the
National Park of Abruzzo has also taken several initiatives about
other areas.