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 natur ...

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 The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park located mostly in Abruzzo, Italy. It was established in 1991, it has an area of , and it is mainly spread out across the province of Teramo, L'Aquila, Pescara, with small areas ...

, near

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide vall ...

Abruzzo , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1 ...

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 Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Allu ...

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 a ...

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 The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a sin ...

, 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 N ...

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 Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

'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 a ...

hill towns 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 Muge ...

s, Castel Del Monte and Santo Stefano di Sessanio 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''), Edelweiss 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 u ...

, Apennine

wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

and the Abruzzo

chamois The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the ...

. 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 ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

es, grass snakes, and a wide variety of bird life including

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...

s 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 (CINEOS), an

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. H ...

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