The municipality of Campoli Appennino is perched close to the Apennines in Ciociaria. The ‘City of the Bear and the Truffle’ is popular with hikers and gourmets who set off from here to discover the wonders of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park and in search of the noble tuber.
The impervious territory of Campoli Appennino is laid out in a ring shape on the edge of a vast karstic dolina, known as the ‘Tomolo’. The ‘Tomolo’ is 130 metres deep and is considered the largest doline in Lazio, the only one with inhabited edges.
Faunistic Area of the Mersicano Brown Bear in Campoli Apennino – photo from Facebook @AreaFaunisticaOrsoCampoliAppennino
Since 2010, the sinkhole has been home to the “Area Faunistica dell’Orso” (Bear Wildlife Area), set up by the municipality and the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park. The 15-hectare wooded area is home to bears that are no longer allowed to roam freely and allows them to live in captivity, unhindered and in an environment similar to nature. Currently, the Fauna Area is home to five specimens of European brown bear.
Big Bench 347 in Campoli Apennino – Photo Facebook @Big Bench 347 Campoli Apennino
In 2024, at Colle San Pancrazio, the Big Bench in Campoli Appennino was inaugurated as part of the international Big Bench Community Project by American designer Chris Bangle. The view of the panorama is breathtaking, overlooking the valley below. Campoli’s Big Bench is the tenth in the list of Big Benches already present in Lazio.
Campoli Appennino
The town walls and picturesque squares in the historic centre reveal the medieval origins of Campoli Appennino, symbolised by the 9th-century medieval tower. A few steps from the Town Hall stands the Church of Sant’Andrea Apostolo. It was built in the 18th century and embellished with decorations and paintings, including those in the chapel of San Gaspare del Bufalo. Also not to be missed are visits to the Church of Santa Maria Rubiconda, Nero’s Aqueduct and the Church of San Pancrazio from 1594, with a wooden statue by sculptor Francesco Verzella (1804).
Taste the Campoli Appennino truffle with fettuccine. The area is home to black truffles, with an intense and fragrant flavour, and white truffles, which are rarer and have a mild taste. Also try the local honey.