The Abruzzo region is a mountain range like no other in Europe. Alpine and Mediterranean, cultivated and wild. On one side, olives, wine, and sheep; on the other, steep gorges, alpine scree deserts, and glacial moraines with wolves, lynxes, and bears. Located between Rome in the west and Pescara on the Adriatic Sea, the Abruzzo region is a central part of the Apennines, which run through Italy from north to south. Three national parks characterize the Abruzzo region. The Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise in the southwest, the Parco Nazionale Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga in the center, and the Parco Nazionale della Maiella in the east, rising steeply from the Adriatic Sea.