The Monti Ausoni and Lago di Fondi Regional Natural Park is a protected area established by a Lazio regional law of 4 December 2008, born from merging several natural monuments: Campo Soriano, the Temple of Jupiter Anxur, Acquaviva, Cima del Monte and Quercia del Monaco, and Lake Fondi. In the province of Latina it includes land in Terracina, Fondi, Lenola, Monte San Biagio, Roccasecca dei Volsci and Sonnino.
What to see
The areas of the park are very different from one another, and the vegetation changes with altitude, soil and season. On the roughest ground there are meadows of crocuses, anemones and orchids, and where people have not intervened oaks and holm oaks grow; going down towards the wetter areas and the sea there is Mediterranean scrub, with laurel, hackberry and butcher's broom.
The wildlife is varied too: among amphibians there is the Italian newt, among reptiles the viper, the whip snake and the four-lined snake. Foxes, badgers, wild boar and porcupines are common, and the Apennine wolf is present; among birds, besides migrants, the peregrine falcon is worth noting.
Visiting
Trails, visitor centres and access rules should be checked with the park authority, which publishes information on the Lazio parks portal.
Our editors' tip
Inside the park, at Campo Soriano, you can see the Rava di San Domenico, the limestone monolith about 18 metres high that everyone calls the Cathedral.
