Mainarde: coming into their presence is an emotion. The signs attest to this, but there is no need, they say “Area of exceptional environmental value”. In fact, that’s exactly how it is.
The Mainarde are a mountain group in the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise (Pnalm) and are located between Lazio (province of Frosinone) and Molise (province of Isernia). They are basically the mountainous strip to the south of the Monti della Meta, from which they are separated by Passo dei Monaci (mule pass, connection between Lazio and Abruzzo for traders, shepherds and Benedictine monks. The name of Passo dei monaci derives from a legend: three monks died during a storm trying to cross the pass).
A wild area, perhaps the wildest in the Pnalm, this of the Mainarde. At its slopes the Volturno river originates.
Excursions
There are countless excursions on the Mainarde, starting with the Traversata which touches most of the main peaks with over 20 km of walking and approximately 1200 meters of altitude difference. We recommend the itinerary from Vallefiorita or Campitelli or from Prati di Mezzo to Metuccia or Monte a Mare or even Coste dell’Altare, Cappello del Prete. You can go up from Castelnuovo al Volturno to Monte Marrone (we are talking about symbolic places of World War II, of the Gustav Line), or from Castel San Vincenzo. The Venafrana Valley between Ferruccia and Monte Mare on one side and Monte Cavallo on the other is beautiful.
And what about the Monacesca Valley? We start from the Aceroni refuge (municipality of San Biagio Saracinisco) which climbs up to Fonte Fredda in front of the Forcellone, the Morrone delle Rose and the Cavallo. Mandatory stop Torretta di Paradiso (between Mainarde and Monti della Meta) overlooking Val Canneto.
Woods that give way to clearings, lush meadows, screes, glacial cirques and streams. And then we know, Pnalm is a land of wild animals. From the Marsican bear, to deer (the magic of bellowing), from chamois to birds of prey.
Stopping in the villages downstream is experiencing an emotion from times gone by.
A curiosity: near Monte Marrone there is a small house between two rocks, the French painter Charles Moulin, a disciple of Matisse, lived there. Moulin, during a holiday in Italy, arrived in the Isernino area from Rome, fell in love with the Mainarde, its lights, its views and remained there for years. He lived in the mountains in solitude, at around 1800 meters above sea level; he came down to the valley from time to time to trade his paintings for a loaf of bread and a piece of cheese. He died at the foot of the Mainarde and is buried in Castelnuovo al Volturno.
Speaking of this village, at Carnival there is a very beautiful rite: the rite of the Deer Man, or rather “Gl’Cierv”; it has been repeated on the last Sunday of Carnival, since time immemorial. After sunset, the only square in the town becomes the picturesque stage of a pantomime involving many inhabitants.
READ ALSO Volturno, story of the birth and death of a river
The etymology is obscure. It is not excluded that the name “maìnu”, which could derive from the pre-Latin base “mag” and the term “magino”, produced the toponym “Mainarde”. Originally the name Mainarde, often linked without any attestation to Germanic, seemed to indicate exclusively the small town of Case Mainarde, as reported in the maps of the Military Geographic Institute, in the territory of Vallerotonda (FR).
Main peaks
- Monte a Mare (2160 m)
- Monte La Metuccia (2105 m)
- Monte Coste dell’Altare (2075 m)
- Monte Cavallo (2039 m)
- Monte Forcellone (2030 m)
- Monte Mare (2020 m)
- Cima a Mare (2014 m)
- Monte Cappello del Prete (2013 m)
- Monte Ferruccia (2005 m)
- Monte Marrone (1805 m)
YOU DISCOVER The National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise
