The field trips are designed to explore some of the towns that are becoming Bear Smart Communities in the central Apennines, highlighting the achievements, challenges and opportunities that have emerged during the LIFE Bear Smart Corridors programme, co-host of the 2026 IBA Conference.

Pettorano sul Gizio – Exploring the History of the BSC Programme in Italy

Below is a brief description of the programme. Please note that it may change depending on weather conditions. Our aim is to offer the same format for every trip, with minor variations dictated by logistics and by the character of each town. The booking includes transport, guiding and lunch, and a professional guide will accompany the group throughout the day. Bookings for this event are non-refundable.

PROGRAMME

We leave from Pescasseroli Piazza S.Antonio at 8:00 am and drive north-east out of the Sangro valley, following the road towards Rocca Pia (approx. 1 hour 20 minutes). On arrival there is time for a coffee at the village café before we set off.

From Rocca Pia the trail drops gradually towards Pettorano sul Gizio. The path runs through beech woods and open pasture along the Genzana ridge, one of the corridors Marsican brown bears use to move between the Park and the mountains further north. Our guides will read the landscape with you along the way: the signs animals leave behind, the reasons this narrow strip of land matters so much for the future of the population, and the work that has gone into keeping it passable. The trail brings us in on foot, straight into the old village: stone houses stacked against the slope, narrow lanes, the castle above. There is time to wander and take photographs before lunch.

Lunch is at around 1:00 pm at Il Torchio, a family-run osteria and part of the Coexistence Network. Milena and her father cook what this valley has always eaten, and they will tell you about it while you eat. Local dishes, local ingredients, no menu written for visitors.

In the afternoon, a short walk uphill takes us to the Cantelmo Castle, where we meet the people behind the project. They will explain how Pettorano sul Gizio became a Bear Smart Community, what has changed here over the past five years, and what it takes to keep bears and residents sharing the same valley — electric fences, bear-proof bins, and a village that decided coexistence was worth the effort. The meeting lasts about an hour, after which there is time to visit the castle itself and its architecture. The bus leaves Pettorano sul Gizio at 4:00 pm, with expected arrival back in Pescasseroli at approximately 5:30 pm.

3h walking · 7 km · 100 m ascent · 490 m descent

Highlights

Each trip takes place in a different community, either within the core range of the Marsican brown bear or along one of the ecological corridors into which bears are expanding.
During each trip you will have a chance to meet members of local committees, learn how conflicts are being mitigated and visit some local businesses from the Coexistence Network.
A deep dive into the local culture and natural surroundings in a relaxed format.