Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park

The great "Green Lung" of Abruzzo

The National Park

The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a national park established in 1991. The third largest protected nature reserve in Italy by territorial extension, it is mostly located in Abruzzo (province of L’Aquila, Pescara and Teramo), making it one of the three national parks present in the regional territory, and to a lesser extent in the adjacent areas of Lazio (province of Rieti) and Marche (province of Ascoli Piceno). was established with the Law of 6 December 1991, n. 394 – “Framework Law on Protected Areas”. The definition of the perimeter was complex, from the initial 220,000 hectares to the current 150,000 hectares of surface area. There have been various legislative provisions, adopted on several occasions, in relation to the debate and the varied positions taken by local authorities, associations, organizations and institutions. The park covers an area of about 141,341 hectares on a predominantly mountainous terrain, including the Gran Sasso d’Italia massif and the Monti della Laga chain, located just north of this along the same eastern ridge of the central Apennines Abruzzo.

The territory of the park is divided into 12 districts, of which in the Terre Pescaresi the Voltigno area covers:

  • the District of the Great Abbeys, linked to the presence in the area of important Benedictine abbeys, real pearls of religious architecture, such as San Clemente a Casauria, San Bartolomeo a Carpineto della Nora, Santa Maria Casanova at Villa Celiera; in the Pescara area it includes the municipalities of Brittoli, Carpineto della Nora, Civitella Casanova, Farindola, Montebello di Bertona, and Villa Celiera;
  • the Gran Sasso d’Italia (or simply Gran Sasso), the highest mountain massif of the Apennines and peninsular Italy, located entirely in Abruzzo, in the easternmost ridge of the Abruzzo Apennines, on the border between the provinces of L’Aquila, Teramo and Pescara. Composed of several adjacent mountain ranges, in the Pescaresi area it includes only the area of the Municipality of Farindola.