Mount Greco and Chiarano Valley (Central Italy): an example of geotourism in the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park

Abstract

<p>Mount Greco and Chiarano Valley represent a crucial sector for enhancing the high geotourism potential of the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park (Central Italy). This area is characterized by landscapes that strictly incorporate the relationships between geoheritage and tourism, showing how various geological-geomorphological processes have produced different features and behavior of territories. These active processes continually change the landscape and allow us to directly observe wonderful environments within their spatial and temporal scales. The study area comprises landforms resulting from a wide range of geomorphological processes: glacial landforms, karst landforms, slope landforms, fluvial and fluvio-glacial landforms. In this framework, one of the most beautiful geotourist destinations is the Pantaniello Lake’s area (1818 m a.s.l.), a natural moraine basin located in the middle of an impressive glacial valley with a small mountain lake resulting from the damming of a U-shaped valley due to a slight moraine arch. The present-day setting of the study area testifies the overlap of different geomorphological landscapes over space and time, highlighted by various types of landforms resulting from relict glacial environments, landslides, and karst processes. Finally, this work presents an example of the enhancement and promotion of geotourism in the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park. It allows for the description of an awesome landscape within the park in an easy-to-understand way through thematic maps, visual legends, and cartoons. This kind of approach can increase people's knowledge and make them aware that the present-day landscape results from a long-term dynamic evolution providing outstanding landscapes, but also intrinsic natural hazards and risks.</p>