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Wild peonies

Trumpet gentians on high slopes

The curious Eryngo bloom

Orange lily

Type of alpine cabbage on scree

The divine bee orchid

Colouring bare fields with pretty splashes of violet-blue along its stem and prickly flower heads, a variety of Eryngo, a curious slender thistle is commonly seen all the way through to the autumn months. It is known romantically in Italian as Cardo di Venere, ‘Venus thistle’. Sun-beaten hillsides at lower altitudes are often colonised by typical Mediterranean vegetation comprising light woods with holm oak and bushes of sweet broom. Masses of aromatic herbs line pathways, their distinctive scent wafting through the air. Mint, oregano and smell-alikes thyme and piquant savory are the most common, along with the distinctive curry plant Helichrysum with woolly yellow blooms.

However in terms of flowers, the most famous spot in the Sibillini and indeed in the whole of Italy, is the Piano Grande di Castelluccio. This huge unique upland basin is an explosion of colour in late spring. Fields where lentil crops have been planted are painted with immense watercolour strokes as wildflowers such as poppies, cornflowers, vetch, mustard and myriad others come out. It is celebrated as the Fiorita and usually happens in early June. (See also ssss1.)