September 9, 2015
San Martino is a small agricultural hamlet within the municipality of Sessa Aurunca in the Caserta Province of Italy. The hamlet is located on the sloping hills of the Roccamonfina Volcano, the base of which is 11 miles in diameter; more than twice the size of Mount Vesuvius. Although the volcano has been inactive for over 50,000 years, the volcanic ash has enriched the surrounding earth with minerals that encourage plant growth. Because they particularly thrive off of the volcanic soil, chestnut trees dominate the surrounding forest. Rich soil combined with an abundance of water from the Garigliano, Savone and Peccia rivers, encourage a robust ecosystem with a diversity of wild life.
Local Wildlife include:
Plants: Crocuses, violets, buttercups, orchids, chestnut, hawthorn, olives, grapes, mushrooms
Birds: Owls, cuckoos, woodpeckers, blackbirds, white stork, kestrals, buzzards, fisher falcons, red herons
Land animals: badgers, wild boar, hares, foxes, beech martens, tree frogs
