The dense forests of Turkey oaks and downy oaks color the slopes and the valley bottom with intense green, giving corners of peace with an almost primordial flavor.
The Nature of Pietralunga
Authentic forests as far as the eye can see
Endless expanses of authentic woodlands, stretching as far as the eye can see from the low western valleys to the slopes of Mt. Nerone.
Nature is at home in Pietralunga; it is sap that has nourished and nourishes the authenticity of the area, with a human presence that is always discreet and integrated into the authentic landscapes of the Umbro-Marchigiano Apennines.
The dense forests of turkey oaks and downy oaks color the slopes and valley floor deep green in spring, providing peaceful corners with an almost primordial flavor.
The State Forest of Pietralunga – Bocca Serriola
The state forest of Pietralunga-Bocca Serriola, with its extension of over 10,000 hectares, is one of the largest state-owned forest compressors in Italy, it is the cradle of biodiversity and a green lung of extraordinary naturalistic value.
The wood extends around the small medieval villages of Pietralunga and Montone, bordered to the north by the wooded slopes of the Alpe della Luna, to the south-west by the Upper Tiber Valley, and to the east by the Serra di Burano and the rugged limestone peaks of the ‘Umbrian-Marchigiano Apennines.
EXCURSIONS
Walks and hiking in unspoiled nature, suitable for all levels
PLACES OF NATURE
The Carpina valley
The Carpina torrent , a left tributary of the Tiber, draws a magical scenario with its winding course: a still uncontaminated environment, rich in botanical emergencies (now rare plants such as the black alder and holly) and landscape (cascades in series, natural pools , wooden bridges, old mills).
The marly-arenaceous substrate, mainly impermeable, means that dry periods alternate in summer, with particularly violent floods in autumn and spring.
The water that overflows from the banks submerges the grasses, runs between the trunks crushing the shrubs and uprooting the trees at the base, saturates the soil making it poor in air: only a few species adapt to these conditions, willows, poplars and alders, which in the together they form the Riparian Forest .
Eddies, jumps and softer sections alternate in its path giving life to waterfalls and pools also suitable for torrenting bathing. With its extraordinarily clear and cold waters , the Carpina stream is particularly loved by the Pietralunghesi and by tourists on hot summer afternoons.
Naturalistic Oasis of Candeleto
Protected area, wide and articulated, which extends for about 1000 hectares on the Candeleto hill, between the valleys of the Carpina and Carpinella streams.
The top of the hill, called Monte Croce (735 m asl), is covered by vast pine forests of black pine , with the presence of firs and pino silvestre, the result of reforestation carried out at the beginning of the century and which
they give the landscape an alpine-like aspect. The undisputed rulers of this forest are the rodents: the Squirrel, greedy for pine nuts, the Dormouse and Moscardino.
The rest of the wildlife is concentrated along the slopes of the Candeleto hill, where the mixed deciduous woods (Oaks, Maples, Carpini, Sorbi and Ciliegi), alternating with pastures and clearings, offer safe shelters and plenty of food; Here coexist the Fox and the Boar, the Badger and the Porcupine, while Magpies and Jays fly cautiously from branch to branch, and the Kestrel, during the day, and the Allocco, at night, preside over the sky.
Naturalistic oasis of Varrea
Protected area consisting of over nine hundred hectares of uninterrupted wood that covers the slopes of three deep valleys, a natural refuge for a small family of Wolves who give their name to the wonderful path that crosses it: the Rings of the Wolf .
A small beech forest extends between the serious and the facetious, residual testimony of the ancient woods, a unique environment in which to walk in absolute contact with nature.
The summit area, characterized by heavily eroded slopes, with outcropping bare rock (which in some places forms suggestive CALANCHI) constitutes an exceptional balcony on the adjacent mountain ranges: Serra di Burano, Monte Nerone, Monte Catria and Monte Cucco.
EXPLORE
Explore the thousand faces of Pietralunga
