List of national parks of Italy in the context of "Central Apennines"

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (/ˈæpənaɪn/ AP-ə-nyne; Italian: Appennini [appenˈniːni]) are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km (750 mi) the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join the Ligurian Alps at Altare. In the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula. Since 2000 the Environment Ministry of Italy, following the recommendations of the Apennines Park of Europe Project, has defined the Apennines System to include the mountains of north Sicily, a total distance of 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The system forms an arc enclosing the east of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas.

The Apennines conserve some intact ecosystems that have survived human intervention. In these are some of the best-preserved forests and montane grasslands in Europe, now protected by national parks and, within them, a high diversity of flora and fauna. These mountains are one of the last refuges of the big European predators such as the Italian wolf and the Marsican brown bear, now extinct in the rest of Central Europe.

Circeo National Park (Italian: Parco Nazionale del Circeo) is an Italian national park founded in 1934. It occupies a strip of coastal land from Anzio to Terracina, including also a sector of forest in the mainland of San Felice Circeo, and the island of Zannone.

The park was established by order of Benito Mussolini, under advice from Senator Raffaele Bastianelli, to preserve the last remains of the Pontine Marshes which were being reclaimed in that period. It is the only national park in Italy to occupy only a plain and coastal area. It reaches from approximately Pontinia in the north to Sabaudia in the south.

The regional parks of Italy are protected natural areas consisting of terrestrial, river, lake areas and stretches of sea overlooking the coast, of environmental and naturalistic value, which represent, within one or more adjacent regions, a homogeneous system, identified by the naturalistic assets of the locations, with landscape and artistic values and cultural traditions of local populations.

They are officially regulated by Presidential Decree D.P.R. 616/77, which transferred the responsibility for their upkeep to the Italian regions. The fifth edition (2003) of Italy's Official List of Protected Natural Areas (EUAP) comprises 105 officially designated regional parks, covering a total land area of some 12,000 square kilometres. The list which follows also includes a number of parks not mentioned in the EUAP. The Parco naturale lombardo della Valle del Ticino was the first Italian regional park to be established and the first European river park.

Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italian: Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise) is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise. It is sometimes called by its former name Abruzzo National Park. The park headquarters are in Pescasseroli in the Province of L'Aquila. The park's area is 496.80 km (191.82 sq mi).

It is the oldest park in the Apennine Mountains, and the second oldest in Italy, with an important role in the preservation of species such as the Italian wolf, Abruzzo chamois and Marsican brown bear. Other characteristic fauna of the park are red deer and roe deer, wild boar and the white-backed woodpecker. The protected area is around two thirds beech forest, though many other tree species grow in the area, including silver birch and black and mountain pines.

Vesuvius National Park (Italian: Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio) is an Italian national park centered on the active volcano Vesuvius, southeast from Naples. The park was founded on June 5, 1995, and covers an area of around 135 square kilometers all located within the Province of Naples.

It is centered on the active volcano and its most ancient (now inactive) crater, Monte Somma. It houses 612 plant species and 227 wildlife ones.