The park can be divided into five main
habitats: the forest, the promontory, the littoral dune, the humid area and the island of Zannone.
Forest area The forest included in the park, occupying a grossly square sector between the SS 148 Pontina state road and the coast of
San Felice Circeo, is the last relic of the so-called ancient "Selva di Terracina", once occupying much of what is now the central
province of Latina. Now reduced to an area of c. 3,300 hectares, it is anyway the largest plain forest in Italy. in the southern slopes of Mount Circeo. It is characterized by the peculiar
piscine ("swimming pools"), temporary marshy areas forming in the autumn season due to the accumulation of rainwater, and the
lestre, where once the sparse population built their villages. Vegetation includes
maquis shrubland, continental species such as
Turkish oak,
fraxinus and
common oak, as well as typical Mediterranean trees including the
holm oak, the
bay laurel and the
cork oak.
Understory is also rich, featuring
common hawthorn,
blackthorn,
wild apple,
pear and
strawberry trees,
erica,
Ruscus aculeatus and numerous others. The berry vegetation allows the presence of a rich fauna, including
wild boar,
fallow deer,
hare,
european badger,
red fox,
weasel,
green whip snake,
Natrix maura, land and marsh
Testudo,
Triturus newt,
toad and
frog among the others.
Promontory as seen from the beach of dunes in
Sabaudia, Italy. The promontory of Circeo, with a maximum height of 541 m, is a
Mesozoic limestone-
dolomite massif with a peculiar island shape, and gives its name to the whole park. From a naturalistic point of view, it can be divided into two different sectors. The northern slopes of the promontory have a more humid climate and are covered by a thick shrub of
holly oak in the upper sector, which, at the lower heights, is associated with
manna arsh,
Ostrya carpinifolia,
downy and
Italian oak. The understory includes erica,
broom and strawberry tree, while where the mount descends to the plain is a 25 ha cork oak wood. The southern slopes have a milder climate and are characterized by Mediterranean rock vegetation (holm oak,
Phoenicean juniper,
euphorbia tree,
myrtus,
Pistacia lentiscus,
rosemary and erica, while amongst the lower plants are the
rock samphire,
Helichrysum and
Centaurea. Wildlife, aside from the European badger, wild boar and
beech marten, includes numerous bird species such as
peregrine falcon and the
common kestrel. Among the numerous coastal caves of naturalistic interest are the Grotta Guattari, where in 1939 a skull of
Homo neanderthalensis was found, the
Goats Cave (), the
Impiso Cave (), the
Grotta del Fossellone and the
Grotta Breuil; the latter was also inhabited by the Neanderthal Man.
Sea dunes The park is home to a 22 km-long coastal sand strip, from the limestone cliffs of the Mount Circeo, in correspondence of the Torre Paola watchtower, up to Capo Portiere. The sand, characterized by fine sand, is backed by a typical
maquis shrubland with a maximum depth of 27 meters. The section nearer to the sea is home to short vegetation, housing a number of small size wildlife including the European badger, foxes, lizards and beetles. Farther from the sea are bigger plants, such as the
prickly juniper and
mastic, up to true trees like the
maritime pine and the holm oak, or, near the lakes (see following section), the
alder,
fraxinus,
poplar and
willow.
Humid areas The humid area of the Circeo park includes four coastal salt lakes:
Paola, Caprolace, Monaci and Fogliano, which are what remains of the
Pontine Marshes and currently are home to a vast wildlife of aquatic birds (
cattle egret,
crane,
goose,
northern lapwing,
skylark,
curlew), as well as to rare species such as the marsh turtle. With a maximum depth of two meters, they are connected to the sea through a series of canals. Other species present in the area include
badger, wild boar,
fox,
crested porcupine, wild weasel, and
European hedgehog. Vegetation is composed, on the lakes' shores, by
salicornia (Arthrocnemum glaucum),
inula and
tamarisk among the others. Apart the lakes, there are some further smaller marshy area in which
Italian Mediterranean buffalo shepherding is practiced.
Zannone Zannone is a small island belonging to the
Ponziano archipelago, annexed to the park in 1979. Uninhabited, it is covered by woods of oaks and holm oaks, and is the only island in the archipelago to have kept its original vegetation cover. The latter include
strawflower,
mastic,
myrtus,
common broom, erica, euphorbia, strawberry tree and
bay laurel. ==References==