Alta Murgia Park
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
The Alta Murgia National Park is mainly accessible via the Bologna-Bari motorway, with exits at the Trani, Molfetta, Bitonto, Bari-Nord, Bari-Sud and Gioia del Colle toll booths, from which the main routes to the municipalities on the plateau branch off. On the Bari side, the state road connects Bari to Altamura and Gravina in Puglia - the headquarters of the managing body - crossing the southern part of the park; the provincial road , called Andriese-Coratina, reaches the municipalities on the northwestern side of the plateau via Corato, Ruvo di Puglia and Andria. From the Lucania and Calabria sides, access is via the state roads , and . The airport of reference is Karol Wojtyła di Bari Palese, about 45 km from Altamura and 60 km from Gravina in Puglia; the municipalities in the park can be reached from the airport by Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (FAL) trains to Altamura and Gravina in Puglia, or by Ferrotramviaria lines to Bitonto, Ruvo di Puglia, Corato and Andria. By Trenitalia (TI) the Gioia del Colle station can be reached, on the Bari-Taranto line, from which regional bus lines continue to Santeramo in Colle, Altamura, Gravina, Poggiorsini, Spinazzola and Minervino Murge. There is no delimited entrance to the park: the plateau is accessible from all the access points of the thirteen municipalities included in the perimeter. The Park Authority headquarters and main information point are located in Gravina in Puglia, at Via Firenze 10.
.Introduction
The Alta Murgia National Park extends into the Apulian hinterland, in the provinces of Bari and Barletta-Andria-Trani, occupying the north-western part of the Murge plateau at altitudes between 300m and 686m. Established by Decree of the President of the Republic on 10 March 2004 and published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on 1 July 2004, the park covers an area of approximately 680.77 km² and includes the territories of thirteen municipalities. Since September 2024 it has been recognised as a UNESCO World Geopark, the twelfth in Italy, for the exceptional quality of its geological heritage. The park protects the main sub-steppe area of the Italian peninsula, a karst system on a Cretaceous limestone substratum with no permanent watercourses and characterised by dolines, sinkholes and pulas, where xerophilous herbaceous vegetation alternates with strips of oak woodland and the dense web of rural artefacts documenting thousands of years of human presence.
Description
The north-western Murge plateau that forms the core of the park is an elongated tabular structure in the Apennine direction, bordered on the south-eastern edge by a marked escarpment sloping towards the lower Adriatic in a north-easterly direction. The geology of the area is dominated by the compact limestones of the Bari and Altamura limestone units, a Cretaceous formation dating back to around 130 million years ago and up to 3,000m thick, partly covered by Pleistocene calcarenites. The absence of a permanent surface hydrographic network, a consequence of the permeability of the substrate, directs rainwater towards underground drainage systems that feed the karst aquifers. The superficial manifestations of karstification are among the most evident and characteristic of the area: the Pulo di Altamura is a karst doline about 500 m in diameter and over 90 m deep; the Pulicchio di Gravina reaches a depth of 100 m; the Gravina di Gravina in Puglia is a canyon carved by the torrent in the south-western edge of the plateau, marking the boundary between the park and the city. The highest elevations are found in the northwestern Murge, with Monte Caccia at 680 m and Torre Disperata at 686 m; the southern sector of the south-eastern Murge is no higher than 500 m.
The plateau vegetation reflects thousands of years of human transformation, which has profoundly reduced the original forest cover and replaced it with cereal crops, pastures and coniferous reforestation. In the less altered areas, there are still patches of oak (Quercus pubescens), downy oak (Quercus trojana), thorny oak, holm oak (Quercus ilex) and turkey oak forest, with undergrowth of honeysuckle, hawthorn, myrtle (Myrtus communis) and mastic (Pistacia lentiscus). The Acquatetta Forest, between the municipalities of Minervino Murge and Spinazzola, with 1,083 hectares, is the largest forest in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani and one of the largest in Apulia; it is home to spontaneously developed specimens of downy oak and Mediterranean species such as spiny oak and holm oak. In the steppe expanses and rocky pastures, the herbaceous vegetation mainly belongs to the Festuco-Brometalia and Mediterranean steppe communities of the Thero-Brachypodietea, both priority habitats under the EU Habitats Directive. In spring, the grasslands are enriched by the blossoming of asphodel (Asphodelus sp.), ferula and more than thirty species of wild orchids of the Serapias, Orchis and Ophrys genera, including the very rare Ophrys murgiana, which was recently discovered and scientifically described.
The fauna includes more than 130 species of vertebrates. The symbolic species of the park is the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), which nests in colonies in the ravines of Altamura and Gravina in Puglia, with the largest Italian population and one of the largest in Europe; the park largely coincides with the Site of Community Importance established specifically to protect this bird of prey and the steppe habitat of which it is an indicator. Other diurnal birds of prey include the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), red kite (Milvus milvus), short-toed eagle (Circaetus gallicus), buzzard and hen harrier; nocturnal birds include the barn owl (Tyto alba), little owl, tawny owl and long-eared owl. The Apennine wolf (Canis lupus italicus), locally extinct in the second half of the 20th century, has resumed its permanent presence in the area since the 2000s, favoured by the recolonisation of the wild boar as its main prey. The rare wetlands on the edge of the park are the nesting ground of the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) and several species of migratory birds. Among the amphibians are the painted discoglossus (Discoglossus pictus) and the Italian newt (Lissotriton italicus).
The park area preserves a stratification of human presence spanning more than a hundred thousand years. In the Lamalunga cave, in Altamura, the partially mineralised skeleton of Homo neanderthalensis known as Altamura Man was found in 1993, dated at over 130,000 years old and among the most complete in the world for this species. Pleistocene faunal remains have been found in the same sinkhole of the Pulo di Altamura. Continuing human presence is documented by the rupestrian churches and underground villages built between the 9th and 14th centuries along blades, ravines and torrential ravines, by the Basilian monastic tradition that marked the first phase of the mediaevalisation of the territory, and by the dense network of stone farms - some with fortress-like features - of jazzi for the resting of transhumant livestock, of neviere, cisterns and specchie. The ancient sheep-tracks of the Apulian transhumance cross the plateau, connecting the summer pastures of the Apennines with the winter pastures of Apulia, and their traces are still recognisable in the landscape. Dominating the peaks of the plateau are the Norman castles of Gravina and Garagnone; on a spur emerging from the Murgia plain stands Castel del Monte, an octagonal fortress ordered by Frederick II of Swabia in the 13th century and recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The national park was established by the Presidential Decree of 10 March 2004 pursuant to Law No. 426 of 9 December 1998, which provided for the establishment of new national protected areas.
In terms of enjoyment, the park offers a network of themed cycle paths - including the Castelli in Aria, Costone Murgiano, Foresta di Murgia, Spazi Infiniti and Tracce nella Roccia routes - that connect the municipalities of the plateau along rural roads, sheep-tracks and stone landscapes. The main visitor centres and cultural facilities within the perimeter of the park include the National Archaeological Museum in Altamura, the Lamalunga Centre for the Enhancement of Man in Altamura, the Ettore Pomarici Santomasi Foundation Museum in Gravina in Puglia, the Jatta Museum in Ruvo di Puglia and the Botromagno archaeological park in Gravina. Scientific monitoring activities concern in particular the kestrel falcon, endemic orchids, wolf recolonisation and the hydrogeological characterisation of the karst system.
Information
General Data
Typology: National Park; UNESCO World Geopark (from September 2024)
Year of establishment: 2004 (Presidential Decree. 10 March 2004); UNESCO Geopark recognition: 2024
Managing body: Ente Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia
Reference body: Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica
Area: 680.77 km²
Minimum elevation: 300m
Maximum elevation: 686m
Maximum elevation: 686m - Torre Disperata (Minervino Murge)
Region(s): Puglia
Province(s): Bari - Barletta-Andria-Trani
Municipalities involved: Altamura - Andria - Bitonto - Cassano delle Murge - Corato - Gravina in Puglia - Grumo Appula - Minervino Murge - Poggiorsini - Ruvo di Puglia - Santeramo in Colle - Spinazzola - Toritto
Official website: https://www.parcoaltamurgia.gov.it