Campo Imperatore ("Emperor's Field") is a mountain

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

or alpine meadow formed by a high basin shaped

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

located above Gran Sasso massif, the largest plateau of Apennine ridge. Known as "Little Tibet", it is located in Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, near L'Aquila, Abruzzo,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Campo Imperatore is a notable cinematographic natural set: the location has been used in more than twenty films, like ''The American'', ''The Name of the Rose'', '' Krull'', '' Ladyhawke'', '' Red Sonja'', ''Il sole anche di notte'', and ''L'Armata ritorna''. Campo Imperatore is a tectonic origin shaped by alluviums and

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s. The plateau, which is 27 km in length and an average of 8 km in width, lies adjacent to the Apennines' highest peak

Corno Grande Corno Grande ( Italian for "great horn") is the highest point in the Apennine Mountains, situated in Abruzzo, central Italy. Part of the Gran Sasso massif, it is the highest peak of the Italian Peninsula at . It is the highest peak in mainland ...

, and Europe's southernmost glacier, the Calderone; also surrounding the plateau are Monte Prena, Monte Aquila, and the Camicia Mountains to the north and Monte Scindarella, Mesola and Monte Bolza to the south. The plateau's altitude ranges from 1,500 to 1,900 meters. It covers an expanse of approximately 80 km². Campo Imperatore is home to one of Italy's oldest alpine

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

s. Located on the plateau's western edge, the resort began commercial operation in the 1920s and continues to thrive as a ski resort to this day due to its proximity to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(132 km). The resort's hotel became dictator Benito Mussolini's prison in August 1943 with his fall from power until he was freed by German commandos on 12 September 1943. On the eastern side of the plateau is a 4 km cross country ski trail, which is maintained by the nearby town of Castel del Monte. On the southeastern side of Campo Imperatore are

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

hill town {{Unreferenced, date=May 2010 A hill town is any citadel town built upon hills to make invasion difficult. Often protected by defensive walls, steep embankments, or cliffs, such hilltop settlements provided natural defenses for their inhabitants. ...

s once ruled by the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

s, Castel Del Monte and

Santo Stefano di Sessanio Santo Stefano di Sessanio is a ''comune'' and hill town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. Located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, in the highest region of the Apennines, this medieval hill to ...

as well as the ruin of one of Europe's highest fortresses, Rocca Calascio. In spring, summer and fall, shepherds from these neighboring hill towns maintain herds of sheep, "semi-wild" horses, and cattle in the plateau. The pastures are covered with field grasses and meadowland wild flowers. Santo Stefano di Sessanio 2008 by-RaBoe 02

Santo Stefano di Sessanio 2008 by-RaBoe 02

Campo Imperatore is also home to the Alpine

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

of Campo Imperatore. Founded in 1952, the garden is devoted to cultivation and study of some 300 species indigenous mountainous plants, including rare and endangered plant species, among them ''Vaccinium gaultherioides'', Yellow Gentiana (''

Gentiana lutea ''Gentiana lutea'', the great yellow gentian, is a species of gentian native to the mountains of central and southern Europe. Growth ''Gentiana lutea'' is an herbaceous perennial plant, growing to tall, with broad lanceolate to elliptic leave ...

''),

Edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signal ...

of the Apennines (''Leontopodium nivale''), and ''Adonis distorta'', all plants that have adapted to Campo Imperatore's environment. Campo Imperatore is also the habitat for the Apennine

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

, Apennine wildcat and the Abruzzo chamois. Nearly extinct, the latter is making a comeback through a joint effort by WWF Italia and the administration of the Gran Sasso National Park. Other species of wildlife include

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

, foxes,

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recognized ...

s, and a wide variety of bird life including golden eagles and peregrine

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

s. Also located on the high plateau, taking advantage of the elevation and absence of man-made light, is the

Campo Imperatore Near-Earth Object Survey The CINEOS program (Campo Imperatore Near-Earth Object Survey), started in 2001, is dedicated to the discovery and follow-up of near-Earth objects (NEOs), namely asteroids and comets which periodically approach or intersect the Earth's orbit. In ...

(CINEOS), an observatory branch of Rome Observatory.

External links

Alpine Botanical Garden of Campo ImperatoreGran Sasso Tourism CenterCampo Imperatore Ski CenterCampo Imperatore ObservatoryA photo gallery made by a UNESCO photographer
{{Authority control Apennine Mountains Plateaus of Italy Geography of Abruzzo Province of L'Aquila

See also

External links