It is wedged between the Taburno chain to the northwest and the Picentini mountains to the southeast. And it is largely identified with the ridge of the Partenio Mountains, from which it takes its name,
which with its 25 kilometers extends between four of the five provinces of Campania, Benevento, Avellino, Naples and Caserta. Established with a series of regional provisions between 1993 and 2002, in its 16,650 hectares it includes the territories of no less than twenty-two Municipalities.
From a geological point of view, the Partenio rock is calcareous in nature, so it has all the typical characteristics of karst phenomena, starting with the numerous caves scattered on all sides, so much so that there are twenty-five caves in the Nolan area alone. Another characteristic element is the presence of various springs and torrential streams, fed by rainwater flowing through the valleys dug by the elements along the sides of the mountains. In addition to the Calore, which flows in the northern part of the ridge and, therefore, of the park, there are the Clanio, which feeds the seventeenth-century hydrographic network of the Regi Lagni; the Isclero, which flows into the Volturno in the Caserta area; the Rio Vergine torrent which swells the Rio Finestrelle in Avellino; the Sabato basin and, between Benevento and Avellino, the Corvo torrent. Streams that for several stretches follow underground paths and then reappear on the surface. And there is no shortage of waterfalls and the Acquapendente waterfall.
The mountains that stand out for their height are Montevergine with its 1850 meters high, known because it houses the famous Marian shrine, destination of pilgrimages from all over Italy and Europe, Monte Avella at 1480 meters and Monte Ciesco, high 1357 meters. The uncontaminated nature that characterizes them and the dense woods that largely cover them, so as to justify the declaration of Site of Community Interest (SIC), justify the special protection introduced with the establishment of the park. There is no shortage of cultivated areas, especially in the valleys – Caudina, del Sabato and Vallo di Lauro Baianese – and pastures.
The great biodiversity that is recorded in the Parco del Partenio, due to the clayey, calcareous and volcanic soils, in any case decidedly fertile, as regards the flora, shows a very wide variety of species, also linked to the altitude and climatic zones. At low altitudes, cultivated areas mixed with Mediterranean scrub prevail. Going up in height, holm oak woods, oak and chestnut woods follow one another and, in the highest part, beech woods with meadows for grazing and essences that offer splendid blooms: wild carnation, Etna violet, tricolor violet, crepis, narcissus, asphodel, Trefoil, Poa and Armory. Near the watercourses, the tall trees are the black, white and tremulous poplar, together with Neapolitan alder, hornbeam, Lobelius maple. The rock flora is represented by saxifrages, edraianto, campanula, centaurea, burnet, valerian, woodruff, daphne. There are also 33 species of wild orchids in the park. Then there is the Giglio Martagone, chosen as the symbol of the park. And there is no shortage of herbs with healing properties, used by Benedictine monks of the Montevergine abbey to produce their famous liqueur from an ancient recipe handed down inside the convent.
The Park includes twenty-two municipalities in its territory: Arienzo, Arpaia, Avella, Baiano, Cervinara, Forchia, Mercogliano, Monteforte Irpino, Mugnano del Cardinale, Ospedaletto d'Alpinolo, Pannarano, Paolisi, Pietrastornina, Quadrelle, Roccarainola, Rotondi, San Felice a Cancello, San Martino Valle Caudina, Sant'Angelo a Scala, Sirignano, Sperone, Summonte. The headquarters of the park is in Avella.
