Simbruini Mountain Park

Like many Italian mountains, even the Simbruinis were the target of building speculation in the 1960's, but thanks to many mountain-lovers, who occupied themselves with defending them, the most beautiful and interesting part remained out of the development and is today protected by Simbruini Mountain Park, which with its 30,000 hectares of protected nature, is the largest regional park in Lazio.
In addition, the park is part of the very important green corridor that goes from the Lucretili Mountains to the National Park of Abruzzo, guaranteeing animals the possibility of movement, a privilege that was discovered to be fundamental for maintaining bio-diversity, especially for large mammals, such as wolves, deer, etc.

During our visit, made in August 2005 to write this article, we went back along  some of the paths of my first trekking experience, and I was curious to see what had changed.
We noticed, with pleasure, that the park administration had done a lot, creating a network of paths with signs and panels with a map of the park to help orient you. We ran into cows and horses that graze in the fields and wander about in the woods; we saw the beautiful blooming of the cardoons (the last plants to bloom before the end of summer) and met many butterflies, sign of a healthy environment.
The only negative note was running into quite a few off-road vehicles, even though their circulation is strongly forbidden in the park; the lack of control was felt, and both we as well as other excursionists that we met were disturbed by  these on the Sunday of our visit...
On a truly positive note, however, are the marvelous publications about the park that are available for free at the information point in Subiaco, with many maps, descriptions of itineraries, etc.
It is by uniting and slightly modifying two of the walks proposed by the guide that we did in our day-and-a-half trip through the park; you can see some pictures in these articles.

La Flora and the splendid blossoming.
In 1974, the Italian Botanical Society marked the Simbruinis as an area of great interest.
I think that the great richness in the flora of these mountains is due to the continual alternation of more or less thick woods and open spaces that create a very lively landscape.
The great protagonist of the mountain is the beech tree, even with exceptional centuries-old trees that often tower alone in the middle of the fields; between spring and summer you'll even find fantastic blossoms.
It begins in April, with the first purple crocus, then the yellow buttercups, the violets of many colors, and the orchids.
Going ahead in the seasons you'll find the moonwarts, the lilies, and wild roses; then the cardoons, which with their large spiny flowers are the protagonists of summer blooming.

La Fauna, that which is hidden an that which we see.
The most famous guests of the Simbruinis are surely the wolf and the elusive wildcat, but it is very difficult to run into either.
On the other hand, you will surely meet the splendid cows of the Apennines while you walk among the woods; the real cows, those with the large horns and the lazy and proud look, which were the model in the Greek and Roman era only slightly resemble those poor milk machines that are the bred cows.
You will also run into many horses, and if you look up, you may see a golden eagle. But even looking down, you'll see interesting things: there are thousands of butterflies of all sizes and colors that stop on cardoons and mountain flowers.