Rewilding Apennines | Making Apennines a Wilder Place

The wild heart of Italy

Bruno D'Amicis. Rewilding Europe

The wild heart of Italy

Just an hour and a half from Rome lies a wild world: the Central Apennines, a mosaic of forests, grasslands and rocky peaks that shelters extraordinary biodiversity.
A living landscape, where nature still takes centre stage.

Within this setting, Rewilding Apennines operates as part of the Rewilding Europe network — 11 European rewilding landscapes working together to restore nature on a large scale.

We are guided by a shared mission: to support rewilding processes and foster coexistence between people and nature, striving for a future where Europe and the Apennines are ever more vibrant and in balance.

Our Work

Wilder nature

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Nature for people

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Building engagement

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Scaling up

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Stories from the area

“This truly is the wild heart of Italy!”

Mario Cipollone
Team leader of Central Apennines

How would you characterise your rewilding area?
Historic villages and dramatic landscapes with outstanding opportunities to experience majestic wildlife and wilderness experiences a short drive from Rome. Brown bears, wolves, large ungulates and large birds of prey are the main attractions, complemented by excellent Italian food, wine and hospitality and the opportunity to meet livestock owners and mountain people and sample their unique culture. I invite every nature lover to come here and enjoy what our surprising nature can offer in the most respectful way. This truly is the wild heart of Italy!

What have the major achievements been in your rewilding area to date?
As a project manager for the Salviamo l’Orso team I was involved in a number of major achievements:

Establishing the first “bear smart community” through the provision of electric fences and bearproof waste bins, and the raising of awareness to prevent bear-human conflict with a dramatic reduction of bear-related damage. This successful conservation action has been now expanded to different areas across the entire range of the Marsican brown bear.
The mitigation of bear-related traffic accidents through the installation of reflective studs, road signs and optical systems, and a reduction of the speed limit on Road SR83 to 70 km/h.
Reduction of bear-beekeeping conflicts by securing several apiaries with electric fences, paying compensation for damage to non-secured properties, and promoting bear smart practices.
Promotion of bear-friendly products, creating an extra incentive for local entrepreneurs to protect bears.
Organisation of volunteer programs involving Italian and foreign students in conservation actions, bringing new life and energy to local communities.

All of these actions, while specifically aimed at boosting the local bear population, are also having a wider positive impact on Central Apennine ecosystems.

What would you like to see achieved in your rewilding area in the next five years?
Over the next five years I would like to see significant growth of the Marsican bear population with an extension of its core area, the comeback of scavengers and raptors which inhabited this area before hunting and poisoning took their toll, and the expansion of the European otter in our rivers. I would also like to see an increased environmental awareness amongst our local stakeholders, and the increased adoption of best practices for coexistence with wildlife, which form the basis of our conservation efforts.

Vision

Jeroen Helmer / Rewilding Europe

Rewilding vision

Every rewilding area has an inspiring vision that shows Rewilding Europe’s ambition for the next ten years. Together with our local partners we work to make this vision a reality.

The Central Apennines is now a true biodiversity hotspot, with real wilderness at the very heart of bustling Italy, only 1.5 hours from Rome. The Central Apennines, a majestic range of limestone peaks reaching an altitude of almost 3,000 metres concealing caves, deep canyons, some of Europe’s oldest beech forests and a wide range of grasslands – inhabited by the Marsican brown bear, grey wolf, Apennine chamois, red deer, golden eagle, vultures and an astonishing set of endemics. This provides opportunities for truly Mediterranean wilderness experiences in the Apennines – the Wild Heart of Italy.
Since all the way from the high plateaux via the slopes to the foothills of the mountains, traditional livestock herding and mountain farming have been increasingly abandoned for socioeconomic reasons, nature here has been left to a natural rewilding process. Vast areas have been allowed to become much wilder than before. Large herbivores, carnivores and scavengers are coming back in their natural numbers to this rich mosaic landscape. People, previously struggling to be able to remain in their villages through making a living in the traditional style, have now found new, additional or alternative sources of income from wildlife, wild values and wild nature.
In combination with sales of products from the surrounding areas where people still use the landscape in traditional, sustainable ways, this is a vital part of the income for people in the region. The land use changes, rural exodus, loss of biodiversity and fading traditional culture has been turned into new opportunities, attracting both young and old entrepreneurial people as well as many more and better paying visitors from far outside the region. A number of large core rewilding areas that have no- take regimes, are connected through wildlife and wilderness corridors and surrounded by zones for different kinds and levels of sustainable use.
Great wildlife watching tourism is paired with other business opportunities, changing the issues of land abandonment and man/wildlife conflict into great opportunities. Agreements with land owners, communities, hunters and livestock breeders allow the establishment of a network of different experiences of wild nature. Traditional products, such as sheep cheese, mountain flower honey and herbs are produced in tandem with wild nature. People who live here really value the new opportunities from this novel mix of qualities in a modern and more profitable setting.

Our partners

Rewilding Europe is the NGO grouping rewilding initiatives in Europe. It provides scientific and operational support, sets benchmarks, develops communication guidelines and supports funding activities.
Salviamo l'Orso is a leading local sister organisation, with which Rewilding Apennines coordinates bear interventions and co-manages the volunteer programme. Our collaboration is strong and long-standing, based on a practical approach and understanding of the local context.
Rewilding Apennines collaborates with the Raggruppamento Carabinieri Biodiversità Castel di Sangro in co-managing the monitoring of the griffon vulture population and providing support to the anti-poison dog units.
The Monte Genzana Alto Gizio Regional Nature Reserve is a strategic partner of Rewilding Apennines and a crucial area for the expansion of the Marsican brown bear. Many of our rewilding initiatives take place there. It was here that our first Bear Smart Community was born.
The Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park is the core area of the Marsican brown bear and one of the oldest conservation institutions in Europe. We collaborate with the park under a memorandum of understanding, thanks to which numerous initiatives are jointly planned and implemented.
The Sirente Velino Regional Park is an important corridor area for the expansion of the Marsican brown bear population and for the griffon vulture. For Rewilding Apennines it is also a key partnership for the success of the LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors initiative.
The Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park represents a new frontier for the expansion of the Marsican brown bear and is the largest national park in the central Apennines. The park joins the LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors initiative.
Exodus Travels is a British tour operator that organises itineraries in the Apennines. Together with them, we offer trips designed to provide an innovative perspective on the rewilding approach. Our aim is to revolutionise the way travellers perceive Italy, transforming it into a destination for nature tourism, beyond its most famous destinations.
Wildlife Adventures is a nature tourism company with which we have established a strong and long-lasting relationship. Thanks to this partnership, we have been able to develop a sustainable and effective tourism strategy. Our main partner for Rewilding Weeks
With the Valleluna cooperative, we have established a strong and long-lasting relationship. Together we organise outreach initiatives, nature experiences and events in the municipality of Pettorano sul Gizio.
Soundtrek is one of our Italian partners for Rewilding Experiences.
Hogan & Lovells is an international law firm supporting rewilding in Europe. Over the years it has deepened its knowledge of the work of Rewilding Apennines and wishes to extend and diversify its commitment to rewilding in Italy. The aim is to work together to create a legal framework to regulate and promote rewilding in the country.
With the Agrarian University of Castel Madama we have an agreement for the management of the ‘Bosco della Selva’: an area of 360 ha in which we are committed to applying rewilding practices, fauna and flora monitoring, combating environmental crimes, raising environmental awareness and promoting tourism and nature volunteering.
In the area of the Cascate del Verde Reserve, we run one of our breeding centres for the native crayfish and engage in dissemination initiatives.
In the Zompo lo schioppo nature reserve, we carry out many wildlife monitoring activities and co-manage the breeding centre for crayfish and native trout breeding.
Dendrocopos Cooperative is as committed as we are to many habitat and ecosystem restoration actions

The Italian members of the European Rewilding Network

Rewilding Apennines works with the Italian members of the European Rewilding Network in order to boost the rewilding movement in the country and to place side by side their initiatives.