Stazzo Vallefredda
The place
Former shepherd's stazzo restored and converted into a refuge, set within the Parco Naturale Regionale dei Monti Simbruini (Lazio, Italy), at the heart of the Valle Fredda. The stazzo — in the transhumance sense of the term — was an area enclosed by a quadrangular stone wall where livestock were gathered during transhumance, sometimes subdivided into several sections to separate types and categories of animals. These stazzi were linked to one another by tratturi, wide natural tracks marked by the periodic passage of herds between Abruzzo and Puglia. Near the present-day refuge, the walls that once delimited the animal enclosures still stand, along with a stone drinking trough. An exceptional setting in the Simbruini: the largest protected beech forest in Europe (UNESCO-listed), peaks above 2000 m, vast plateaus and deep valleys fed by the crystalline springs that give rise to the Aniene.
Getting there
Approaches from Camerata Nuova or Vallepietra (Lazio side of the Simbruini), trails towards Monte Autore and Monte Tarino.
The setting
Valle Fredda, Parco Naturale Regionale dei Monti Simbruini, UNESCO beech forests of Europe.
