or older pecora (mutton), while rosticini are barbecued skewers of whatever meat is going. Olive ascolane from the Ascoli Piceno district are fat green olives stuffed with sausage meat, crumbed, fried and devoured finger-burning hot!
The Piano Grande di Castelluccio is famous all over Italy for its tiny flavoursome lentils, lenticchie (yes, Italians do get excited about such little things if it’s related to eating). They may be served in a savoury runny soup consumed with toasted unsalted bread or accompanied by spicy sausages. On the vegetable front (contorno, side dish) there is bitter cicoria, wild greens that are boiled lightly then tossed in garlic, chilli and oil. Autumn walkers have a good chance of being fed hot roast or boiled castagne (chestnuts).
Cheese (formaggio) tends to be dominated by pecorino (sheep’s milk cheese) though blends using cow’s milk (latte di mucca) are common. A variant on the delicious soft Italian ricotta cheese is creamy raviggiolo, consumed fresh or used in pasta stuffing as well as desserts. Evidently records survive from the 1500s when it was presented as a prized gift to the Pope.
In the Marche region aniseed (anice) is a common ingredient, and is used effectively with red wine in fragrant, baked biscotti. It is also the main ingredient of Varnelli, a very popular clear spirit, a bit like Pastis. A delicious dessert wine that is home-made and can be exceedingly sweet is vino cotto, with shades of Marsala. Wines vary tremendously though reds tend to dominate. If you’re after booze from the surrounding territory, the Marche has a couple of DOC raters (Dominazione di Origine controllata, an essential guarantee): Rosso Piceno is a very decent table quality, best drunk young, and a white equivalent is Falerio dei Colli Ascolani. Umbrian wines from the vicinity include Colli Martani and Colli Amerini varieties. Naturally, serious wine lists also feature vintages from leading Italian regions such as Tuscany and Piemonte.
Breakfast (prima colazione) is a choice of té (tea), caffé served with latte (milk) or frothed up as a cappuccino, or just short, strong and black (nero) in espresso form. Children can often request cioccolata calda (hot chocolate), but parents should be aware that this rich dense luscious Italian version is highly addictive! Bread, butter and jam (pane, burro, marmellata) complete the picture, maybe a pastry if you’re lucky.
Plant Life
As is immediately obvious, the tree line in the Sibillini is virtually at a clear cut 1500m above sea level. The entire range was once thickly forested with beech and fir, but demands of livestock rearing and nomadic grazers, along with charcoal burners, progressively led to widespread deforestation, resulting in vast expanses of grassland on upper slopes. However, swathes of thick woodland persist at medium altitudes, a stunning spectacle in autumn with infinite shades of red and orange.
The flower arena is vast and extremely exciting for enthusiasts, as a remarkably broad array of blooms flourish thanks to the marvellous diversity of habitats. These embrace a range from low-altitude dry and typically Mediterranean terrains, woodland, pasture slopes, all the way up to alpine-like altitudes well over 2000m. There’s also a decent batch of ‘endemics’ – plants found in a limited geographical area. Most notably, the elevated central ridges of the Sibillini are the perfect haunt for the rare Apennine edelweiss. Like its iconic alpine relative it has creamy-coloured thick velvet petals and pale green leaves. However, this plant grows closer to the ground, presumably to protect itself from the strong winds prevalent here. It begins flowering in late June and is a protected species! Brilliant blue gentians share its habitat along with delicate pink rock jasmine and lilac alpine asters. Not far away on limestone scree are golden poppies and clumps of fleshy-leafed alpine cabbage, yellow and attractive despite the name. A little further down at meadow altitude flourish a wealth of divine orchids, including the exquisite insect types known as Ophrys. Elegant orange lilies and the wine-red martagon variety are never far away. Shady woods on the other hand are the perfect place for batches of deep crimson peonies.
Wild peonies
Trumpet gentians on high slopes
The curious Eryngo bloom
Orange lily
Type of alpine cabbage on scree
The divine bee orchid
Colouring bare fields with pretty splashes of violet-blue along its stem and prickly flower heads, a variety of Eryngo, a curious slender thistle is commonly seen all the way through to the autumn months. It is known romantically in Italian as Cardo di Venere, ‘Venus thistle’. Sun-beaten hillsides at lower altitudes are often colonised by typical Mediterranean vegetation comprising light woods with holm oak and bushes of sweet broom. Masses of aromatic herbs line pathways, their distinctive scent wafting through the air. Mint, oregano and smell-alikes thyme and piquant savory are the most common, along with the distinctive curry plant Helichrysum with woolly yellow blooms.
However in terms of flowers, the most famous spot in the Sibillini and indeed in the whole of Italy, is the Piano Grande di Castelluccio. This huge unique upland basin is an explosion of colour in late spring. Fields where lentil crops have been planted are painted with immense watercolour strokes as wildflowers such as poppies, cornflowers, vetch, mustard and myriad others come out. It is celebrated as the Fiorita and usually happens in early June. (See also Walk 19.)
The interesting Giardino Botanico Appeninico is only a short stroll above Visso (on the GAS trail). Helpful handbooks are Christopher Grey-Wilson and Marjorie Blamey’s Alpine Flowers of Britain and Europe (HarperCollins, 1995) as well as Thomas Schauer and Claus Caspari’s A Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe (Collins, 1982).
Wildlife
A remarkable variety of wild animals call the Monti Sibillini their home, though most remain elusive to the casual visitor. At best, walkers can expect an interesting range of birds.
The vast expanses of hillsides covered with low grass are the perfect habitat for ground-nesting rock partridge, which take off in small flocks with a cluttering of wings and heart-stopping guttural clucks if surprised. They fly somewhat clumsily for short distances, keeping quite close to the ground. Far above, kestrel and buzzards circle, and four pairs of nesting eagles have been reported. The Piano Grande is excellent for birdwatching.
Apennine chamois with its distinctive long horns
The Apennine chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata), a fleet-footed, nimble mountain goat, is being reintroduced in stages to the Monti Sibillini. A small group inhabits a special enclosure at Bolognola, in semi-captivity but slated for release, while successful re-introductions have been made on Monte Bove. The total population in the Italian Apennines is at 800, so this initiative is being carefully – and optimistically – monitored. They differ from their northern alpine cousin in having much longer horns, but with the same crochet hook. See Walk 4 for details.
Marsican bears, smaller than grizzlies and native to the central Apennines, have been
