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Majella Wilderness

Majella Wilderness

Majella Wilderness

  • Author: Max Rossberg
  • Date Posted: Nov 17, 2017
  • Category:
  • Address: Via Badia 28, Sulmona (Aq), IT-67039, Italy

Majella Wilderness

The Majella Wilderness is embedded into the Majella National Park, Italy. The Majella National Park is situated in the Abruzzo Region of Central Italy, one of the most impressive, wild and extensive mountain ranges of the Apennines, containing more than 30 peaks higher than 2 000 m. Majella Wilderness is home to an amazingly large and rich Wilderness. It includes the most inaccessible and wildest areas of the Central Apennines. The Wilderness consists of limestone mountains such as Majella, Morrone, Porrara, Pizzalto and Rotella, separated by valleys and karst plateaus. The elevation range of the National Park is from 130 to 2 793 m (Mt. Amaro). Majella Wilderness is home to several glacial relicts, which had a widespread distribution during the quaternary glaciations and are now represented by the dwarf poppy, capillary sedge, and alpine aster especially at high altitudes.

European Wilderness Quality Standard Audit System

Majella Wilderness was audited and monitored in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and re-audited in 2018 and meets the Platinum Wilderness Quality Standard. A European Wilderness Quality Standard Renewal-Audit is scheduled for 2028.

Wilderness information

  • Protected area: Majella National Park
  • Wilderness: Majella Wilderness
  • Wilderness Quality Standard: Platinum
  • Country: Italy
  • Size of the protected area: 74 095 ha
  • Size of the Wilderness: 15 960 ha
  • European Wilderness Quality Standard Audit: 2010
  • Wilderness Uniqueness: Apennine beech forests with yew and ilex, mugo pine and rhododendron, alpine and subalpine calcareous grasslands, deep canyons, large animals (chamois, wolf, marsican bear), and endemic species of plants
  • Number of visitors per year to the protected area: approx. 530 000
  • Number of visitors per year to the Wilderness: approx. 125 000

Biodiversity

Majella Wilderness has one of the best-preserved Apennine ecosystems. Due to its altitude, inaccessibility and prominence, most of Majella National Park is uninhabited and so there are less human-made structures, including ski resorts and roads, compared to other national parks in Italy. Nearly half of all mammal species found in Italy are present in Majella Wilderness. The Apennine wolf, red deer, roe deer, wildcats, chamois and brown bear are all found here. The golden eagle is often seen and other spectacular sights include the white-backed woodpecker, the honey-buzzard, lanner falcon and the dotterel.

The vegetation of this park is remarkable as it hosts 36% of the Italian flora and 22% of the European flora. Its 2 114 flora species are distributed in more than 50 different habitats and altitudes. More than 142 of these species are endemic and found nowhere else in the world, for example Crepis magellensis and Centaurea tenoreana. Majella Wilderness is also home to a rare old-growth black pine forest with trees up to 700 years of age. Beech trees are predominant in the forests and often offer spectacular scenery, like in the Wood of St. Antonio, a frequented place for visitors.

Wilderness Tourism Experience

Majella Wilderness is a well-known destination for local and international visitors and provides an opportunity for pleasant experiences. The Majella National Park contains over 500 kilometres of hiking trails through the mountains. Majella Wilderness is a unique example of mountain Wilderness in the heart of the Apennine mountains and the first certified Wilderness in the Mediterranean. Spectacular canyons, dense beech forest and mountain tops provide extraordinary Wilderness experiences.

Contact details

  • Majella Wilderness
  • Majella National Park
  • Address street: Via Badia 28
  • Postal code city: Sulmona (Aq), IT-67039, Italy
  • Phone: +39 0864 25701
  • Contact: info@parcomajella.it
  • Website: www.parcomajella.it

Wilderness Brief

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