Castelluccio Splendor Diminished?

In early July, they told us at Castelluccio di Norcia that the wildflower varieties were fewer this year and the colors less intense due to drastic climate alteration. May 2019 was cold and rainy and scorching heat blistered Umbria in June with no rainfall after June 10th.

The result? A rather timid spread of red poppies carpeted the Piano Grande (“Great Plain”) stretched out below the tiny Umbrian mountain hill town of Castelluccio but the blue and yellow swatches of cornflowers and rapeseed were absent this year.

The fioritura (“flowerings”) of 2018 had been far more spectacular:

This July (2019), occasional splashes of daisies, blue wild chicory and a few purple thistles intermingled with the scarlet poppies:

Visitors walked the fields seeking the best spots for their photos:

I did, too:

I even spotted a small patch of rapeseed:

A beef cow chewing his cud watched me, fields of the famous Castelluccio lentils backdropping the herd:

Around lunchtime, we headed up the windy road to Castelluccio for a snack. Damaged in the 2016 earthquake, the town is roped off …

…..but a few locals sold the Norcia area goodness from booths and trucks surrounding their wounded town:

We’ll head back to Castelluccio again next summer as we always do for the “flowerings.” Hopefully, not just the Great Plain below Castelluccio will be “in flower” but the town as well. Locals have not given up hope for a resurrection.