Gran Paradiso Park
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
The Gran Paradiso National Park can be reached from its two sides. For the Valle d'Aosta side, take the Turin-Monte Bianco motorway, exiting at the Aosta Ovest tollbooth, then follow the signs for the valleys of Cogne (about 21 km of state road), Valsavarenche and Val di Rhêmes; the latter two can be reached via the state road that climbs the Valgrisenche up to the respective valley floors. For the Piedmont side, from Turin take the provincial road of Valle Orco, turning right at Pont Canavese for Val Soana or continuing on to Ceresole Reale; from Ivrea follow the state road of Castellamonte that joins the at Rivarolo Canavese. The two main access points are Cogne on the Aosta Valley side and Ceresole Reale on the Piedmont side. The Park Authority headquarters are in Turin. On the Valle d'Aosta side there are four visitor centres: one in Cogne, two in Valsavarenche (Dégioz and Rovenaud), one in Rhêmes-Notre-Dame; the Giardino Alpino Paradisia is located in Valnontey di Cogne. On the Piedmont side, the main visitor centres are in Ceresole Reale (Valle Orco) and Ronco Canavese (Valle Soana). The railway connection for the Aosta Valley side uses the Turin-Chivasso-Aosta line with continuation by bus (SAVDA lines for Valsavarenche and Rhêmes, Svap lines for Cogne). For the Piedmont side, Rivarolo or Pont Canavese are reached by train, then continue by GTT bus to the Orco and Soana valleys.
Introduction
The Gran Paradiso National Park is Italy's oldest national park, established on 3 December 1922 by Royal Decree-Law No. 1584. It stretches between Valle d'Aosta and Piedmont, around the Gran Paradiso massif in the Graian Alps, covering an area of 710.44 km² spread over thirteen municipalities. On the French side, it borders the Vanoise National Park, with which it forms a cross-border protected area of about 120,000 hectares. The territory stretches across five main valleys - Cogne, Valsavarenche and Val di Rhêmes on the Aosta Valley side; Valle dell'Orco and Val Soana on the Piedmont side - between the 800m of the valley floors and the 4,061m of the Gran Paradiso peak, the only four-thousand-mile peak entirely on Italian territory. The entire history of the park is inseparable from that of the ibex (Capra ibex), its symbolic animal: the park was created explicitly to save it from extinction, and the Gran Paradiso has been the reservoir from which the entire Alpine arc has been repopulated.
.Description
The Gran Paradiso massif is a mountainous complex of metamorphic rocks - predominantly gneisses and mica schists - of very ancient origin, belonging to the zone of the internal crystalline Alps. From the summit of Gran Paradiso (4,061m) starts the main ridge that separates Valle di Cogne from Valsavarenche, along which rise the main secondary peaks: Grivola (3,969m), Herbétet (3,778m), Ciarforon (3,642m) and Tresenta (3,609m). The park includes some 59 glaciers, with the greatest concentration on the Valle d'Aosta side, and numerous waterfalls, among the most spectacular being the Cascate di Lillaz in the Valle di Cogne with jumps of over 150m. There are around sixty alpine lakes, including Lake Ceresole Reale - an artificial reservoir but one of great scenic beauty - and the Nivolet lakes, from which the Orco torrent originates. The Nivolet Pass (2,612m), a pass between Valsavarenche and the Orco Valley, is one of the park's most accessible high altitude environments, surrounded by open plains with small lakes and alpine flowers.
The vegetation is divided into well-defined altimetrical belts along the over 3,200m difference in altitude. Mixed forests of larch (Larix decidua), spruce (Picea abies), stone pine (Pinus cembra) and, more rarely, silver fir dominate in the valley bottoms from about 800 to 1,500m. Above 1,500 metres, the coniferous forests give way to alpine meadows, which offer spectacular blooms in late spring: rhododendrons (Rhododendron ferrugineum) between 1,800 and 2,200 metres, then saxifrages, alpine androsace, alpine cherry (Cerastium alpinum) and ice buttercup (Ranunculus glacialis) above 2,500 metres. Valuable species include the martagon lily (Lilium martagon) in the forest, the poisonous wolfsbane (Aconitum napellus) along watercourses and the edelweiss (Leontopodium nivale), which is rare in higher areas. In the wetlands and peat bogs the eriophorus (Eriophorum scheuchzeri) with its characteristic white tufts blooms in summer. The park's vascular flora numbers 968 species, 25% of which are rare, with the entire area declared an Important Plant Area (IPA) due to its exceptional botanical diversity. The Giardino Alpino Paradisia in Valnontey collects the main species of mountain and alpine flora in the park.
Fauna is the park's founding reason and its most distinctive feature. The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) - the symbol of the park and featured on its logo - was saved from extinction thanks to the Royal Hunting Reserve set up in 1856 by Victor Emmanuel II: at the beginning of the 19th century, around 100 specimens survived in the valleys of the massif, the last colony in the entire Alpine chain. When the reserve was ceded to the State in 1919, protection became official with the establishment of the park in 1922. The Gran Paradiso has been the reservoir from which the entire alpine range has been repopulated: today the alpine ibex populations number around 30,000 head, while between 2,500 and 3,500 live in the park, easily spotted grazing, often even close to inhabited areas. The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is the most numerous ungulate in the park, with around 7,000 specimens; the marmot (Marmota marmota) has around 10,000 individuals. The park is home to 27 pairs of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), the largest bird in the Alps with a wingspan of up to 3m, which has returned to nest in the protected area after local extinction. The European lynx (Lynx lynx) and the Apennine wolf (Canis lupus italicus) have been sighted in recent years. The avifauna counts 101 breeding species, with ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), black grouse (Bonasa bonasia), rock partridge (Alectoris graeca) and wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria). Among the insects, the Parnassius apollo butterfly is emblematic of the high-altitude prairies.
The park area was densely inhabited in the past: in Valle Orco and Val Soana, copper mining activities have been documented since the Middle Ages; in Cogne, the rich iron ores marked the life of the community for centuries, with the presence of active mines until the 20th century. The Gran Paradiso Royal Hunting Reserve was created in 1856 when Victor Emmanuel II, struck by the beauty of the area and the rarity of the ibex, established the reserve, banning hunting by the valley dwellers in exchange for compensation and exclusive hunting privileges for the Savoy family. Generations of royal guards guarded the territory, unwittingly contributing to a primitive form of conservation. In 1919, Victor Emmanuel III ceded the territories and their rights to the state, making the creation of a protected area a condition. On 3 December 1922, in one of the first acts of the Mussolini government, the founding decree was signed. The management body was established by Legislative Decree of 5 August 1947. In 2006, the park was awarded the Council of Europe's European Diploma of Protected Areas, which was renewed in 2012. In 2000 it was recognised as a Site of Community Interest (SCI/ZPS) and is part of the Important Bird Area "Gran Paradiso".
.Information
General Data
Typology: National Park; European Diploma of Protected Areas of the Council of Europe (since 2006, renewed 2012); Important Plant Area (IPA); Important Bird Area
Institution year: 1922 (R.D.L. 3 December 1922, no. 1584); park authority: Legislative Decree 5 August 1947; D.P.R. 3 October 1979 (updated); European Diploma: 2006 (renewed 2012)
Managing body: Ente Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso
Reference body: Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica
Area: 710.44 km²
Minimum altitude: 800m
Maximum altitude: 4,061m
Maximum elevation: 4.061m - Gran Paradiso (Cogne AO / Valsavarenche AO / Noasca TO)
Region(s): Valle d'Aosta - Piedmont
Provinces: Aosta - Turin
Municipalities involved - Valle d'Aosta: Aymavilles - Cogne - Introd - Rhêmes-Notre-Dame - Rhêmes-Saint-Georges - Valsavarenche - Villeneuve
Municipalities concerned - Piedmont: Ceresole Reale - Locana - Noasca - Ribordone - Ronco Canavese - Valprato Soana
Official website: https://www.pngp.en