The Vulture rises imposingly, isolated as it is between the plains.

The ancient mountain, dear to the Latin poet Horace, is a volcano. From the time of its formation, some 750,000 years ago, it has been the undisputed leader in geographical, botanical, zoological and anthropological events in the surrounding natural environment.

Since its last eruption, 125,000 years ago, the living landscape has been slowly but steadily developing, through glaciations and a fascinating natural and human history. One exceptional witness is a butterfly, a Miocene relict, a living fossil: the European Bramea, which still exists after millions of years in its ancient habitat in a small wood in Vulture.

The entire massif is included in the National Inventory of Geosites. Its collapsed caldera, completely reforested, with the two Monticchio lakes below, makes up the Zona Speciale di Conservazione (ZSC) Monte Vulture (Monte Vulture Special Area of Conservation).

The Regional Nature Reserve of Lago Piccolo di Monticchio, the Grotticelle Oriented State Nature Reserve and the Vulture Hydro-mineral Basin further indicate the great interest in this area.This ancient fascination is motivated by its repeated seismic activity, its precious calm and effervescent waters, its forests and precious timber, its fauna, which has been the object of hunting since prehistoric times, out of necessity or for the pleasure of kings and emperors up to the present day.

The current landscape of Vulture is incredibly sensorial: he sounds are made up of wind and water, with springs, fountains and waterfalls, and the seasonal and communicative variations of the rich fauna; The visual and olfactory scenery is determined by the plant biodiversity that here in Vulture, especially in autumn, encounters the microclimatic conditions that make it spectacular; Finally, in terms of flavours, in addition to the waters, the sylvan fruits, chestnut groves, olive trees and vineyards are the repositories of primordial sensations.
If the calderic plant life colours the lake amphitheatre, that of the outer slopes, in contrast, gives the Vulture, with its wings half-open as if intent on protecting its brood, the colours of its livery.