Gargano Park
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
The Gargano National Park can be reached mainly via the Bologna-Taranto (Adriatica) motorway. For the northern side of the park and the lakes of Lesina and Varano, exit at the Poggio Imperiale-Lesina tollbooth and continue on the Lesina and Varano lakes road towards Vico del Gargano, Peschici and Vieste; for the inland foothills, exit at the San Severo tollbooth and continue on the state road towards San Marco in Lamis and San Giovanni Rotondo. For the southern side and Manfredonia use the Foggia or Cerignola Est exits, continuing on the Gargano highway towards Manfredonia, Mattinata and Vieste. From Naples, take the Napoli-Canosa motorway, exiting at Candela, continuing on the to Foggia and then the . The headquarters of the Park Authority is in Monte Sant'Angelo (FG). The main railway connection is the Adriatic line to San Severo or Foggia, from where the Ferrovie del Gargano runs services to the municipalities in the park, including San Giovanni Rotondo and Peschici Calenella. The Tremiti Islands can be reached year-round by hydrofoil from Manfredonia, Vieste, Rodi Garganico, Peschici and Termoli; ferry services are also available in summer. A helicopter service connects the islands to Foggia and Vieste in summer. The main airports are Bari (BRI) and Pescara (PSR).
.Introduction
The Gargano National Park extends over the "Sperone d'Italia" - the limestone promontory that forms the easternmost part of Apulia - in the province of Foggia, covering an area of 1,181.44 kmĀ² spread over eighteen municipalities, including the island municipality of the Tremiti Islands. Established under Framework Law No. 394 of 6 December 1991, with the park authority established by Presidential Decree of 5 June 1995, it is among the largest protected areas in Italy. The park includes the entire Gargano promontory, the coastal lagoons of Lesina and Varano, the Tremiti Islands and its marine protected area. The Gargano promontory is to be considered a biogeographic island: physically connected to the Balkan peninsula for very long geological periods and then isolated from the Apulian plain by the sea and the environmental conditions of lower Capitanata, it has developed an exceptionally unique biodiversity, with endemisms, trans-Adriatic species and the richest repertoire of wild orchids in Europe and the Mediterranean basin.
Description
The Gargano promontory is a limestone-dolomitic block of Mesozoic origin - with rocks from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods - that emerges isolated from the Apennines and the Capitanata plain. The karst phenomenon, caused by the action of water and carbon dioxide on the limestone rocks, has shaped the landscape, creating plateaus riddled with dolines, gravi (sinkholes), caves and rocky gorges that radiate towards the sea or the plain. Surface water is almost completely absent - circulation occurs underground through karstic systems - with the exception of coastal lakes and wetlands. The exception is Punta Pietre Nere, east of Lesina, where dark volcanic rocks dating back to the Triassic period emerge: a geological anomaly that makes this stretch of coastline unique in the entire Adriatic. The coastline is highly diversified: high white cliffs overhanging the Adriatic Sea in the stretch between Vieste and Mattinata, with hidden coves and sea caves; low, sandy shores in the northern sector towards Lesina and Rodi Garganico. The Tremiti Islands - San Domino, San Nicola, Capraia, Pianosa and the Cretaccio rock - are also calcareous, surrounded by seabeds with red gorgonians and sponges, with sea caves that are among the most striking in the Adriatic. The monk seal (Monachus monachus), already present in the Tremiti caves until a few decades ago, has meanwhile become locally extinct.
The vegetation is divided into several systems. The Foresta Umbra - around 10,000 hectares in the heart of the promontory, a remnant of the ancient and most extensive forest that covered the entire Gargano - is the most important forest system, with beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) growing at an altitude of only 300m above sea level: the European record for the lowest altitude of a mature beech forest, explained by the biogeographical isolation of the promontory. In the forest there are beeches, yews (Taxus baccata, with the most important population in southern Italy), turkey oaks, holm oaks, maples and elms, with trees several centuries old. The coastal slopes are dominated by Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) forests - around 7,000 hectares - some with specimens over 500 years old, alternating with Mediterranean macchia with mastic, phillyrea, heather and strawberry trees. The Lesina and Varano wetlands are the largest coastal lagoons in southern Italy: separated from the sea by sandbars, they are home to brackish lagoon ecosystems of great importance for migratory birdlife - the Gargano lies on one of the main migration routes between Africa and central and eastern Europe. The park's vascular flora has over 2,200 species, about 35 per cent of the entire Italian floristic heritage. The European record belongs to wild orchids: no less than 56 species and 5 subspecies, mainly concentrated in the valleys and meadows on the southern slopes. Endemic species include the Gargano bellflower (Campanula garganica), Dalla Porta's vedovina (Scabiosa dallaportae), the Gargano savory (Satureja fruticosa italica) and the Tremiti cornflower (Centaurea diomedea).
The fauna is just as diversified. The italic roe deer (Capreolus capreolus italicus), a subspecies subendemic to the Gargano, is one of the few remaining autochthonous nuclei in Italy and is one of the main reasons for the park's protection. The avifauna numbers around 170 nesting species out of 237 known for Italy - an exceptional figure for a peninsular area. Five species of woodpeckers live in the Umbra Forest, including the middle woodpecker (Leiopicus medius) and Lilford's woodpecker (Dendrocopos syriacus), both of which are rare and localised, and are found in Italy almost exclusively in protected areas. Birds of prey include the Lanner (Falco biarmicus), a species covered by specific conservation projects, the Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus), the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) and the Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo). The Apennine wolf (Canis lupus italicus) has returned spontaneously to the park, with at least one family nucleus detected with phototraps in the Umbra Forest since 2011. Deer, fallow deer, wild boar, wild cat and porcupine are present. Among the insects, the presence of endemic Balkan species - absent in the rest of Italy but found in the Gargano - testifies to the ancient connection with the Balkan peninsula through the Otranto Channel.
The history of the area is rich in stratifications. The Gargano has been a place of pilgrimage since ancient times: the Sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel at Monte Sant'Angelo, founded according to tradition in 490 A.D. following an apparition of the archangel Michael, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011 as "Longobards in Italy: places of power". The pilgrimage to the sanctuary, which spanned the Middle Ages as a fundamental stage of the Micaelic Way, has left traces in the toponymy and culture of the entire Gargano region. San Giovanni Rotondo, with the complex dedicated to Padre Pio - the Capuchin friar who lived there from 1916 until his death in 1968, beatified in 1999 and canonised in 2002 - is one of Italy's main pilgrimage destinations with millions of visitors annually. In the site of Frederick II's marshes - between Manfredonia and Zapponeta - the Swabian emperor held his falcon hunting grounds in the 13th century; the Manfredonia Castle, which he founded in 1256, now houses the Gargano National Archaeological Museum. Pulsano Abbey, near Monte Sant'Angelo, is a monastic hermitage founded in the 6th century on the cliffs on the southern side of the promontory.
.Information
General Data
Typology: National Park; UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 2011, Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo - Monte Sant'Angelo, as part of the serial site "Longobardi in Italia")
Year of institution: 1991 (Law 6 December 1991, n. 394); park authority: Presidential Decree 5 June 1995; definitive perimeter: Presidential Decree 13 May 1998; new perimeter: Presidential Decree 18 May 2001; UNESCO World Heritage Site: 2011
Reference body: Ente Parco Nazionale Gargano
. 18 May 2001; UNESCO Heritage: 2011
Managing body: Ente Parco Nazionale del Gargano
Reference body: Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica
Area: 1.181.44 kmĀ²
Minimum elevation: 0m (sea level)
Maximum elevation: 1,056m
Maximum elevation: 1,056m - Monte Calvo (Monte Sant'Angelo, FG)
Region(s): Puglia
Province(s): Foggia
Municipalities involved: Apricena - Cagnano Varano - Carpino - Ischitella - Tremiti Islands - Lesina - Manfredonia - Mattinata - Monte Sant'Angelo - Peschici - Rignano Garganico - Rodi Garganico - San Giovanni Rotondo - San Marco in Lamis - San Nicandro Garganico - Serracapriola - Vico del Gargano - Vieste
Official website: https://www.parcogargano.it