The landscape around the CEA is characterized by the presence of the hills of the upper Tenna. On the highest rises Smerillo, owner of the homonymous CEA that enhances the paths of the forest with orienteering activities and guided tours to discover the flora and fauna. Here rocky walls, an accessible forest and humid environments, allow a variety of excursions and themes to be treated as: geology with the possibility of observing the fossils of the lower Pliocene; botany with its variety of species present above 550 different types of plants. Do not miss the visit to the Natural Sciences Museum, home of the CEA. From Smerillo, at over 800 meters above sea level, you can enjoy an impressive panorama that goes from the Gran Sasso to the south, the Sibillini mountains to the west, Mount Conero to the north, to the sea to the east. The forest offers a dense network of paths between sandstone rock walls, evocative glimpses of the valleys below and a rich vegetation.
At the CEA Lake of San Ruffino, however, there are various species of willow, black alder, white poplar, black poplar, aspen poplar and vicarious bushes. Near the lake, on the classic oak woodland environment, typical of the Marche hills, and with thickets of impluvium, a deer farm has been created. In the park you can also see the traces of the badger, the hedgehog, the marten, the fox and various species of birds of prey. Near the lake then, besides signaling the massive presence of wild boars and roe deer, it is possible to observe, on the surface of the lake, the presence of the white and gray heron, of the little egret, the moorhen, the grebe and various species of anatids. Nearby is the ancient Abbey of Saints Ruffino and Vitale that serves as a historical-cultural hub of the entire park. It is an ancient Roman place of worship on which an abbey was built. Very suggestive is the hypogeum, frescoed by hermit monks, and the crypt.
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