Castelluccio di Norcia

The Piano Grande is a karst basin at about thirteen hundred metres inside the Sibillini, ringed by mountains and without surface drainage, so the water sinks through a swallow hole at one end. Lentils have been grown here for centuries, small and thin-skinned, and because the fields are unsprayed, poppies, cornflowers, mustard and wild narcissus grow among them; when they flower together in late June and early July the plain shows in wide bands of red, yellow, blue and white, an event locally called the Fiorita. The village of Castelluccio above the plain was destroyed by the 2016 earthquake and remains largely rubble, with businesses in temporary structures.

What you actually see

• The Fiorita - lentil fields and wildflowers colouring the plain in bands.
• The Piano Grande - a ringed karst basin with no surface outlet.
• The lentil farming - a small unsprayed variety grown for centuries.
• The mountain ring - Sibillini peaks enclosing the plain on all sides.

When to go

Late June to early July for the flowering, which shifts by a week or two with the season. Traffic is controlled on peak days with shuttles and booked access.

Honest expectations

The village was destroyed in 2016 and has not been rebuilt; expect containers and rubble. Peak flowering days bring heavy traffic control. The bloom timing is unpredictable.

Nearby

Norcia lies below; the Sibillini park surrounds it.