Encounters with nature on the Aurunci

During the springtime which on the Aurunci starts generally in late March these mountains are real paradises for people with a passion for botanic. Many wild plants and flowers bloom here covering the mountains with many colours and scents. In these higher pastures one’s can witness the marvellous blooming of Black hellebore (Veratum Nigrum), White asphodel (Asphodelus albus), Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia Conopsea) and abundantly the Viola Pseudogracilis, and Orchis pauciflora. Here, on the higher side of the Aurunci are possible other interesting encounters with captivating birds’ species. It is not difficult to see hunting the Buzzard (Buteo Buteo) and from the springtime the magnificent the Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) comes here to nest and spend the summertime. Few times a year the Aurunci witness the flight of the magnificent Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) which used to nest regularly on the Aurunci until 50 years ago’.

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Some young adults choose these mountains for short stay, mainly during the winter time when there less to hunt on the higher Apennines Mountains. One of the birds of prey favourite kill is the Corsican Hare (Lepus corsicanus). The Italian hare sub-species (Lepus corsicanus De Winton, 1898), formerly considered a subspecies of the European brown hare (L. europaeus Pallas, 1778), is an endemic species smaller and more agile than its cousin European Hare. Among the less common birds we find the Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), the Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) and the Woodlark (Lullula arborea).

Even the herpetologists will be astounded because in this Mediterranean wilderness there are few surprises such as the endemic Italian Newt (Triturus italicus) and the tiny Southern Spectacled Salamander (Salamandrina terdigitata). The latter is found only in Italy and is the only species in its genus.. These mountains are often cloud-shrouded and from time to time rough rainstorm break the peaceful harmony of their splendid landscapes. But still under the heavy falling raindrops the sun rips the grey in the sky and turns on the colours of Mother Nature and the peaceful and colourful quietness returns.

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After the violent rains, the wild, rocky landscape is coloured with rays of sun and green, and fields and hillsides are bright with flowers, water flows in gorges, creeks and springs, and the air fills with birdsong. The Aurunci are a beautiful land. A land of woods and pastures, hills and valleys, snow and sun, with an unsuspected nature which resists to the progressive advance of man. This mountainous land is washed by a blue sea, with its southern slopes lying just right on the coast disappearing into the waves. Unspoilt and plenty of traditions, this old mountains and its hidden treasures can captivate you with their many moods, in every season of the year.

Day out and excursions here are refreshing and invigorating with scents of the sea blending with the wild Mediterranean herbs and flowers of rosmarine, jasmine and many others. While on the way back home, the beauty of the orchids is a further invitation to forget mobile phone, car and every day life to plunge into the wilderness of this natural park with its mountains and open spaces where the mind and the sight move freely among the peaks, the sky and further away, the blue Tyrrhenian Sea. Although there has been four thousand years of human activity and history they still preserve their original beauty. During each excursion that feeling of quiet, silent majesty inspired by these mountains gets renewed: their landscapes at times charmingly gentle other times wild and unmovable and their wildlife deserve our respect and protection.

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