1 - Trek 17 - Rio Petroso: not only forests

Ca’ di Veroli – Quadalto – Rio Petroso – Ca’ Morelli – Ca’ di Veroli

Ring walk rather complex and articulated, with frequent changes in the environment even though it is among the most “arid” of the whole territory of the Park. Thermophilic plants (heat-loving) and tipically Mediterranean, such as helichrysum or prickly juniper, confirm this. For this reason it is not recommended in the height of summer. Another peculiarity of this excursion is the dense presence of houses, precious testimonies of the Apennine civilization which closed here – as in most of the remaining Apennines – its glorious history around the end of the 1960s, with the exodus of the population towards the valley floor or towards the plain. Finally, the geological peculiarity constituted by the so-called “Marne di Verghereto” (from the name of the locality, where in fact they strongly characterize the landscape) that appear above all along the ridge of Rio Petroso: give rise to a barren environment, with phenomena of erosion reminiscent of those of the badlands but with, in addition, an almost “exotic” suggestion in their lunar nudity.