Description of the attraction
The Natural Park "Monte Subasio" stretches on the territory of the mountain range of the same name to the northeast of Assisi and dominates the entire valley of the Valle Umbra from an altitude of 1300 meters above sea level. The very word "Subasio" means "Mount Assisi", since the city and this mountain have lived in a kind of close symbiosis since antiquity. The entire historic center of Assisi lies within the parkland.
The city was built from pink stone, which was taken from Monte Subasio, and over the centuries of its history, it received everything it needed from the mountain - building materials, timber, agricultural products, thus influencing the geomorphology and vegetation of the mountain.
The flora of Monte Subasio consists of three belts: the lower one is characterized by olive groves that stretch from Spello to Assisi on one side and from the Costa di Trex to Armezano and San Giovanni on the other. In the middle zone, you can find different types of oaks, hornbeam, flowering ash, maple, beech and holly. Finally, the third belt to the very top is represented by pastures, and the eastern slopes of the mountain stand out for their steepness.
Despite the fact that hunting in the park has been prohibited for several decades, the fauna here is very poor: wolves are occasionally found, and peregrine falcons and quails nested here in the mid-1960s. Today in the park you can see gray partridges, forest cats, squirrels, wild pigeons, magpies, jays, hedgehogs, foxes, martens and wild boars. Buzzards, hawks and owls nest on the eastern slopes of Monte Subasio.
All roads that run through the park connect the historic centers of Assisi, Spello, Nocera, Umbra and Valtopina with other smaller mountain villages. If you leave Assisi through the Porta Perlici gate and take Route 444 Assisana, then turning right, you will find yourself at the park's head office in Ca Piombino. From there you can climb to the Costa di Trex and through Armenzano get to the fortified settlement of San Giovanni or the village-fortress of Collepino.
A scenic road with wonderful views leads tourists to the Convent of Madonna della Spella near the town of Spello and to the hermitage of Eremo delle Carceri. On the way, you can also stop by the Abbey of San Benedetto or stop at the very top of Monte Subasio, covered with meadow grasses. Near the summit are Mortaro Grande and Mortaro Piccolo, two dry valleys that in the past were used to produce ice by pressing snow.
In addition to highways, the park has many hiking and horse riding trails, which usually start in the Costa di Trex, Armenzano, San Giovanni and Collepino.
