LE STRADE DEI PARCHI - Naturainviaggio.It

Tratto VICOVARO - JENNE
From Arsoli to Jenne
Arsoli Jenne
From Arsoli one takes the way to Cervara that gently goes up, among hornbeams,
maples and oak woods, to the area of the Simbruini Mountains Regional Park.
The village of Cervara di Roma, over 1000 metres above sea level, appears right
after a sharp bend, entirely
castled on the mountain side
at the base of a high rocky
cliff.
The inhabited core has an
amphitheatre disposition
shaped by the slope and characterized
by a succession of
houses leaning one over the
other, alleys, steps and arcades.
Cars are not allowed inside
and must be parked either at the feet of the centre or on the upper side.
For the last centuries this so particular village has been charming artists and poets
from all over. Today it looks like a vast “open-air figurative museum” due to a collection
of art works (sculptures, frescoes) enriching its walls, antique alleys and
stairs, given to Cervara as a gift by a great number of artists in the last thirty years.
When days are clear, from the fortress altitude of almost 1100 metres, an overall
view takes in a wide panorama at a glance, that opens towards the west.
From Cervara going down again on the road that runs on the hillside, one goes
south in the direction of Subiaco. Once reached its surroundings, the town is not to
be visited as it will be the last destination of the tour, but rather a turn on the left
must be taken climbing along steep hairpin bends towards the plateau of Livata, at
1340 metres altitude.
Livata is the classical “roman people mountain”, arrival point of a mass
tourism particularly intense during week ends and other short periods of the
year. This is a trend that has generated, before the institution of the Park, the
proliferation of lots of buildings where the grassland of a wide karst basin
used to stand. From here, nevertheless, getting information at the local Visitors
Centre, it is possible to reach by walk some of the most characteristic
places of the Park.
Camposecco for example, one of these, is easily reachable in less than three hours.
It is the vastest karst plateau of the Park, with a length of over 4 kilometres and
characterized by the presence of secular beech trees, dolines, swallow-holes and
wild cattle grazing around. Back in the seventies this unique location hit the
fantasy of movie directors and screenwriters that chose it to shoot several “Italian
westerns”.
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