Piani di Castelluccio
Interesting facts
- A conifer wood shaped like a map of Italy grows on a slope above the Pian Grande, planted in 1961 at the initiative of agriculture minister Mariano Rumor.
- On 2 March 2005 a mass of Siberian air drove the temperature on the Pian Grande down to about −32 °C, one of the lowest readings ever recorded in Italy.
- The plains form the second-largest upland plateau in the Apennines, surpassed only by Campo Imperatore in Abruzzo.
- In 1275 the podestà of Norcia granted the use of the high plain to settlers on condition that they live in the hilltop stronghold that became Castelluccio.
- A late 16th-century report described some 40,000 sheep and other animals driven up from the Roman Campagna each summer to graze the plain.
- Fog on the plains was so dangerous that Castelluccio's church bells were once rung continuously to guide lost travellers to safety.
- In the 19th century Castelluccio, at about 1,452 metres, was regarded as the highest village in the Papal States.
- The lentils grown on the plains received EU Protected Geographical Indication status in 1997.
- The Cima del Redentore, rising to 2,448 metres above the plains, is the highest point in Umbria.
Why it is worth it
High in the Apennines, under the slopes of Monte Vettore, a wide treeless basin opens at about 1,350 metres above sea level. These are the Piani di Castelluccio, three linked upland plains, the Pian Grande, the Pian Piccolo and the Pian Perduto, which together cover around 15 square kilometres within the Monti Sibillini National Park. Ringed by bare mountains and overlooked by the hilltop village of Castelluccio, they form one of the most striking open landscapes in central Italy.
The basin is the floor of an ancient Apennine lake. Glacial and alluvial deposits filled it and karst processes now drain it: the water gathered by the Fosso dei Mergani disappears into sinkholes and flows away underground, so there is no lake today, only a flat, grassy floor. The climate is harsh for Italy, and winter temperatures on the plain can fall below −30 °C.
What makes the plains famous is the flowering, known locally as the fiorita. Between late May and early July the cultivated fields and meadows turn into broad bands of colour as poppies, cornflowers, daisies and the pale blossoms of lentils come into bloom together, a patchwork that changes from week to week. The lentil fields are part of a long agricultural tradition: the lentils of Castelluccio di Norcia are protected by a geographical indication. The plains straddle the boundary between the comune of Norcia in Umbria and Castelsantangelo sul Nera in the Marche.
Getting there
The plains lie on the border of Umbria and the Marche, within the territory of Norcia. Ascoli Piceno, the nearest larger town, is about 30 km away in a straight line across the mountains. The nearest airport is Perugia San Francesco d'Assisi – Umbria International Airport (PEG), about 65 km to the northwest.
On these lists
42.81167, 13.20944per Wikidata