Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park

The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, established in 1991, is the third largest protected nature reserve in Italy, due to its territorial extension. The park, which also embraces the province of Rieti, is mostly located in Abruzzo (provinces of L'Aquila, Pescara and Teramo) and covers an area of about 150,000 hectares on a mountainous terrain which includes the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif and the Monti della Laga chain, located along the same eastern ridge of the central Apennines of Abruzzo. The territory of the park is divided into 12 districts, one of which includes the northern part of the Rieti Province and the municipalities of Amatrice and Accumoli. The botanical heritage of the Park consists of about 2,300 plant species, which represent more than a fifth of the entire European flora and more than a third of the Italian floral heritage. The vegetation includes beech trees on the Monti della Laga (with white fir) and on the Teramano side of Gran Sasso, pastures in Campo Imperatore and on the Voltigno, as well as magnificent high-altitude blooms. The great fauna include the Abruzzo chamois, reintroduced in 1992 and now present with over one hundred individuals and the Apennine wolf, with a population of over thirty specimens. Recently, the Marsican brown bear has also reappeared, as proof of the strong commitment made by the Park Authority in the protection and enhancement of an extraordinary and unique territory. The naturalistic aspects are not the only attraction of this Park where the human presence mixes harmoniously with the surrounding nature, showing its innumerable, ancient villages and castles still beautifully preserved.