The Sibillini Mountains
To mark the border between Umbria and Marche lies the massif of the Sibillini Mountains, a national park that preserve the natural and cultural treasures of great value for our country. The name borrows it from the poetess Sibilla who is said to live in these areas. In the Umbrian stretch of 18,000 hectares, they include the gorges of Valnerina, the plan of Santa Scolastica and Castelluccio di Norcia and on the western side of Mount Vettore, here biodiversity reaches its highest levels. This area is also famous for a legume that reigns sovereign: the Lentil. From June, on the Piana di Castelluccio di Norcia you can come to see the beautiful flowering of fields dedicated to the cultivation of the lentils that color the valley to the eye of the eye. Not only biodiversity: the Sibillini Mountains are a great opportunity to devote themselves to adventure and excursions. On the Grand Ring of the Sibillini there is a 120 km journey divided into 9 stages, two of which touch Umbria where you can find equipped shelters.
Vegetation: High altitudes with alpine vegetation, a protected species of flowers: the Alpine star of the Apennines. The other flowers you might see are: drippy drops, glitter of allions, alpine liners. Among the unique treasures in the world on the Sibillini Mountains are the Caltha Palustris, the Iris pseudacorus, as well as two species of water lentils.
Animals: The deer and the chamois of Abruzzo have come back to populate these mountains after they had been driven out of man for long years. The rare species that populate these mountains are two Sibillini beetles, but there is also the very rare butterfly Erebia Pluto Belzebub who lives in the valley of Pilate Lake. Another symbol of these places is the cartoon of the Vector. Obviously there are also the wolves of the Apennine, the real eagle and a rare specimen of Marsican bear.
Curiosity: On Mount Vettore there is a small lake dug from the ice at 1940 meters, which is called Lake Pilato. In its waters there is a unique species in the world, the Marchesoni Chiropractor, a small coral red crust, which lays eggs that even resist when the lake gets dirty.