This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
The Monti Lucretili Regional Nature Park: Wildness one Hour from Rome
Poggio Moiano is a convenient point of departure to the northernmost — and least frequented — part of the Monti Lucretili Regional Nature Park. Established in 1989, the park extends across 18,000 hectares of the Lazio Sub-Apennines, between the Tiber and the Aniene valleys. The main summits are Monte Pellecchia (1,368 m) and Monte Gennaro (1,271 m). But the area close to Poggio Moiano is different: dense woodland, few hikers, trails that at times get lost in the undergrowth.
Hornbeams, Beech Woods and the Storax of the Lincei
The vegetation here is a mix of Mediterranean and Balkan-Oriental elements. Hornbeams, downy oaks and flowering ashes cover the slopes; at higher altitudes, Turkey oak woods and pockets of beech forest appear. The storax tree (Styrax officinalis), is a symbol of the park, and still grows where Federico Cesi studied it in the 17th century. And then there is the Iris sabina, wild orchids, and the martagon lily.
Wolves, Eagles and the White-clawed Crayfish
The wolf passes through here — the eastern flank of the Sabine Hills serves as a wildlife corridor towards the lakes of Salto and Turano. On Monte Pellecchia a pair of golden eagles nest: making them the closest to Rome. White-clawed crayfish still live in the streams. The wildcat has also been spotted here.
How to Get There
From Poggio Moiano, take the unpaved track towards Fonte Castello, where trail 309 begins.
