Location Piedmont Established 1992 | Area 150 km² Phone +39 0324 87540 | |
 | ||
Governing body Ministero dell'Ambiente Address 28805 Vogogna Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy Province Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Similar Valgrande Hotel, Bed and breakfast Cà dal Pr, Az Agr Fratelli Zaretti SS, Casa Tomà, Agriturismo La Tensa Profiles | ||
The largest wild area in italy val grande cicogna pogallo
Val Grande National Park (Italian: Parco Nazionale della Val Grande) is a protected area located in Piedmont, in the north of Italy, at the border with Switzerland. It is most notable for landscapes of the High Alps.
Contents
GeographyEdit
The park is located in Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and is shared between ten municipalities: Aurano, Beura-Cardezza, Caprezzo, Cossogno, Cursolo-Orasso, Intragna, Malesco, Miazzina, Premosello-Chiovenda, San Bernardino Verbano, Santa Maria Maggiore, Trontano, and Vogogna.
The park lies entirely in the drainage basin of the Po River. It is located between the valley of Vigezzo in the north, the valley of Cannobina in the northwest, the valley of Ossola in the southwest, and Lake Maggiore in the southeast. The park is not populated and is often described as "the largest wilderness in the Alps".
Val Grande and Val Pogallo, two principal valleys inside the park, with the former running southeast and the latter running south, drain almost the majority of rivers in the park. These valleys combine into Torrente San Bernardino, a tributary of Lake Maggiore. The majority of the area of the park is forested.
HistoryEdit
Shepherds populated Val Grande since at least the 13th century, and the timber production was active since the 15th century. However, at the end of World War II all population left the area, followed the actions of German troops against the Italian resistance in the area in June 1944. The idea to create a national park in Val Grande dates back to 1953. In 1967, the area was designated the Strict Nature Reserve and became the first conservation area with this status in the Italian Alps. In 1974, the Association Italia Nostra developed a detailed plan to establish a national park, and in the 1980s, the preparation started. The park was established on March 2, 1992. On June 24, 1998 the area of the park was extended.
TourismEdit
As of 2012, the park had three visitor centers (located in Santa Maria Maggiore, Cossogno, and Premosello-Chiovenda), two museums, and a number of nature itineraries, which should be followed accompanied with a guide.