The National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano coccupies most of the southern area of the Salerno province. It is the second largest Italian national park (about 695 sq miles) and one of the most important ecosystems of the peninsula. Established on December 1991, the Park includes 80 municipalities in an area of outstanding natural beauty. There are at least 1800 plant species, many of them endemic or rare such as the Palinuro primrose, the emblem of the Park, and the wild orchid of San Giovanni a Piro. Centuries-old olive trees dot the sparse coastal lowlands and the gentle hillsides. Hundreds of animal species, such as the Apennine wolf, the hawk, the eagle and the otter inhabit this extraordinary natural environment