Do you feel like spending a day outdoors in nature and also enjoy a visit to an area of great archaeological importance? Then Colfiorito Park is just the place for you! This area is the smallest protected zone in all of Umbria and famous for its mountain marshland. Colfiorito Park is of great historical, cultural and environmental importance and documents thousands of years of the history of man.
Begin your excursion along one of the many trails, over ancient and modern paths you'll be able to admire the Colfiorito marshlands, its flora, fauna and archaeological sites. All of the itineraries can be done on foot, on horseback or with a mountain bike, and they were designed for educational tourism as well.
Start out from the town of Pistia, where the old archaeological remains of Plestia are located. Plestia was a flourishing city that arose along the vital crossroads that connected the two sides of the Apennines. The inhabitants of these high plains were the Plestini, an ancient Italic people who lived here during the Iron Age. Archaeological digs brought to light some remains of the ancient city, including a forum located near the basilica of Santa Maria di Plestia.
If you would like to continue your journey back into time, follow the signs to Castelliere di Monte Orve, a fortified pre-Roman settlement with proto-urban characteristics and surrounded by a thick wall made with blocks of calcareous rock.
Don't forget to observe the landscape as you walk along the trails. The vegetation in this area is highly varied, but the main feature that distinguishes this zone are the wetlands. The entire area is ideal for observing nature, but some places are better than others for this activity: the nature observatory at the centre of the western end of the marsh and the little towns of Croce Cassicchio, Fonte Fontaccia and Fagiolaro.
The best time to watch the lively fauna of the wetlands is spring and autumn, and it's even better if you get there early in the morning.
Don't leave the Colfiorito area without pickingup a bag of red Colfiorito potatoes, the pride and joy of local agriculture, as are lentils and emmer wheat: you'll have all the ingredients to make a delicious soup!
