The idea of ​​the Natural Path of the Parks was born in 2016 with the intention of creating an opposite path to those we are used to: it does not reach Rome but leaves the Eternal City - which has always been a destination for pilgrims and tourists - it crosses the valley historical and heads towards some small great wonders of our country, hidden in the woods of the Apennines, often still unknown.

The name chosen for the route takes up the Spanish conception according to which religious pilgrimages are distinguished from secular “Caminos Natural“, thus underlining how even those who are not moved by religious spirituality can be walkers.

The Natural Path of the Parks it was designed not only for expert hikers, but for all those who want to have a beneficial experience for body and soul. Slow walking pervades the sense of things and the conception of life of the participants, their behavior. It creates a relationship with the environment and with people that enriches relationships and sociability of those who walk, increasing their knowledge and their respect for both nature and men.

With its itinerary, the Natural Path of the Parks unites the various protected areas that follow one another along the route between Rome and L'Aquila, creating a network which - passing through different regions - promotes the protection and enhancement of the cultural, environmental and even religious heritage, favoring the development of sustainable tourism.

The areas affected by the recent earthquakes in Central Italy are also crossed: an opportunity to express the bonds of solidarity that unite us with physical presence.

It is a path designed not only for expert hikers, but for anyone who wants to venture into a beneficial and regenerating experience for body and soul, away from the stress and confusion of everyday life, rediscovering the most ancestral part of ourselves in contact with nature and history.

The Castelli Romani Regional Park participates in the project, together with the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, the Monti Simbruini Regional Park, the Monti Lucretili Regional Park, the Appia Antica Regional Park, the Montagne della Duchess and the Monti Navegna and Cervia regional nature reserve: an ambitious project that supports the desire to network subjects who, dealing with the same environmental issues in different territories, are able to undertake a discourse aimed at the common good, tuning into crucial elements and shared. The strategic objective is to promote the development of a sustainable and eco-compatible tourist system that considers the Parks as fundamental attractors for visitors and determining factors for social and economic growth.

The journey in 4 weeks

The first week begins in Rome and ends in Livata, on the mountain belonging to the Simbruini mountain chain, within the territory of the municipality of Subiaco.

In these first 119 Km we will take a leap into ancient Rome crossing the Appia Antica Regional Natural Park, where we will be able to admire the Circus Maximus, the Sepulcher of the Scipios, the tomb of Cecilia Metella and much more, and among ancient Roman remains and wonderful panoramic views, we will reach the Colli Albani, to admire the suggestive Castel Gandolfo Lake (First Stage) and, with a small detour, taste the renowned porchetta d'Ariccia.

The tour of the Colli Albani continues through the paths that cross the Castelli Romani Regional Natural Park, pass through Rocca di Papa, Rocca Priora (Second Stage) and arrive in Palestrina (Third Stage); from here starts the fourth stage which, before arriving at Guadagnolo, a historic Roman cliff on which it is possible to make exciting climbs, crosses the Natural Monument of the Valle delle Cannuccete.

The last two stages of this first week pass through Subiaco, the Lazio municipality, cradle of Benedictine thought “ora et labora�?, and end in Livata, one of the mountain tourist resorts located in the heart of the Monti Simbruini Regional Natural Park.

Second week

In the second week we will travel 126 km which, with its 7 stages, will allow us to visit suggestive villages full of stories and breathtaking lake landscapes.

The first stage takes us to Camerata Nuova; a few km away you enter the Abruzzo region where Rocca di Botte is located, perhaps the shadiest village in the region, in an eternal friendly "struggle" with its opposite sunny village Pereto.

We leave Abruzzo to return to Lazio and head towards the lands of Rieti following in the footsteps of the Coleman Path which takes us towards Cineto Romano, where we can admire the castle walls with the beautiful Clock Tower reproduced by the Landscape Painter. Just before entering the village, a path allows you to visit and admire the watercourse of the Rioscuro Torrent Natural Monument.

From the pleasant village we will leave again along the path that will take us into the Monti Lucretili Regional Natural Park in the direction of Percile, where we will meet, before the village, the beautiful Lagustelli del Fraturno and Marraone. Continue along a recovered municipal road that served the ancient cultivated lands and skirting the wide karst sinkhole of Pozzo dei Casali you arrive at Orvinio, a beautiful and panoramic village in the Reatino area.

From here we will continue towards Castel di Tora on the shores of the picturesque Lake Turano, capable of leaving those who admire it speechless, we will cross the Monti Navegna and Cervia Nature Reserve, Marcetelli, Fiumata (Lake del Salto) and we will descend towards Pescorocchiano to end the week in Corvaro, home of the Montagne della Duchessa Reserve, where it is possible to taste excellent craft beers produced in the Borgorose brewery.

Third Week

The step that becomes more pronounced and the eyes and soul that are enriched with enchanted images as you climb more and more in altitude, admiring small villages set like precious jewels in the mountains. This is the third week from Corvaro to Accumoli which stretches for 102km.

Corvaro is a village that has preserved the harmony and imaginative medieval imprint and is immersed in the central Apennine mountains of Lazio and Abruzzo in the Montagne della Duchessa Nature Reserve. We will cross Castiglione and then move on to Rascino where we will find a wonderful lake, a karst basin that collects rainwater and snow. It follows Antrodoco whose name derives from the ancient root ocre, or "among the mountains".

We will continue climbing gently towards Posta, following the narrow valley floor created by the Velino River, located approximately halfway between Rome and Ascoli Piceno; the name takes up the use they made of the place, i.e. stopover and lodging for travellers.

And we will conclude the third section with breathtaking landscapes that will entice you not to stop and continue to discover the intimacy that these giant mountains give, arriving in Cittareale, a Lazio wedge bordering both Abruzzo and Umbria and finally Accumoli at 855 m between the Umbria-Marche Apennines in the extreme north-east of Lazio.

Fourth Week

82 km! This is the distance to get to L'Aquila, covering the last six stages of the Fourth Week. They will touch the highest mountains of the entire Apennines, penetrating more and more into the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park.

After a first stage (the twentieth) which connects Accumoli to Amatrice, you will cross the Tronto River Valley and the SS4 Salaria. This corner of land is the border of three regions (Lazio, Marche and Umbria) and the limit between two of the most beloved National Parks, an historic one mentioned above and a much younger one: the Monti Sibillini National Park. We are therefore in one of the areas with the greatest naturalness and environmental value of the Apennines, where the protection of Nature is almost seamless!

After Amatrice you climb gently towards the basin where there is Lake Campotosto, a large and panoramic barrier lake. From here the gaze rests on the nearby steep slopes that end on the peaks of the Monti della Laga chain and ranges over the more distant profiles of the 2700, 2800, 2900 m of the Gran Sasso massif and its western range.

Stages 23 and 24 will allow us to savor the highest mountain environments, including a night at the Fioretti refuge, resting on the upper part of the Val Chiarino. To then undertake the descent, having reached the Belvedere Pass, towards San Pietro della Jenca and admire a privileged view of the Aquila basin.

Update

The route of the Natural Path of the Parks partly overlaps with the route defined by the organizers of the Long March of the Mutate Lands, an initiative of support and solidarity with the populations of the inland areas hit by earthquakes.

Time passes and not only the walls of the houses crumble but also the ties and stories of people, traditions, the walk along the course, memories and friendships: goods that cannot be measured economically but are precious for the life of every woman and every man, as well as for the anthropology and ecology of a territory.

“Terre Mutate is full of life and the desire to start over. There are determined people who populate them, who resist and do not throw in the towel”, as explained by Alberto Renzi of the Movimento Tellurico.