Established in 1934 to save the forest from land reclamation, the Park protects promontory, dune, coastal lakes, lowland forest and the island of Zannone.
Circeo National Park was established in 1934, while the reclamation of the Pontine plain was still under way. It was not a scenic choice: it was needed to stop the lowland forest — the last strip of the great Selva di Terracina — being broken up like the rest of the marsh.
It is one of Italy’s smallest national parks and, at the same time, one of the most varied. In a little over eight thousand hectares it holds five distinct environments, each with its own biological community.
The five environments
- The lowland forest — about three thousand hectares of plain woodland with centuries-old oaks and the ‘piscine’, hollows that flood in winter and dry in summer.
- The coastal dune — twenty-two kilometres of sand ridge up to twenty-five metres high, among the most significant in the Mediterranean.
- The coastal lakes — Paola, Caprolace, Monaci and Fogliano: brackish wetlands recognised under the Ramsar Convention.
- The Circeo promontory — an isolated limestone massif with two slopes of opposite climate and dozens of karst cavities of Palaeolithic interest.
- The island of Zannone — the only Pontine island within the Park, with its holm-oak wood and seabird colony.
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
Since 1977 the Park’s territory has been part of the UNESCO MAB network as a Biosphere Reserve, among the first designations awarded in Italy. The programme does not protect nature alone: it addresses the relationship between conservation, research and human activity.
Visiting properly
- Cross the dune only on the wooden walkways.
- Stay on marked trails: off the track you damage the understorey and disturb wildlife.
- In wetlands, watch from the hides without approaching the shores.
- Do not collect plants, fossils or archaeological material.
- Book visits to regulated-access sites in advance.
The operational reference point is the Sabaudia Visitor Centre, where guided visits are booked and trail conditions checked.