The Dolomites, also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley. The Dolomites are in the regions of Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, covering an area shared between the provinces of Belluno, Vicenza, Verona, Trentino, South Tyrol, Udine and Pordenone.
The province of Brescia is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of some 1,265,964 and its capital is the city of Brescia.
The Brenta Group or Brenta Dolomites is a mountain range, and a subrange of the Rhaetian Alps in the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group. They are located in the Province of Trentino, in northeastern Italy. It is the only dolomitic group west of the Adige River. Therefore, geographically, they have not always been considered a part of the Dolomites mountain ranges. Geologically, however, they definitely are - and therefore sometimes called the "Western Dolomites". As part of the Dolomites, the Brenta Group has been officially recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site under the World Heritage Convention.
Val Camonica or Valcamonica, also Valle Camonica and anglicized as Camonica Valley, is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the commune of Pisogne near Lake Iseo. It has an area of about 1,335 km2 (515 sq mi) and 118,323 inhabitants. The River Oglio runs through its full length, rising at Ponte di Legno and flowing into Lake Iseo between Pisogne and Costa Volpino.
The Sarca is a river springing from the Adamello-Presanella mountains in the Italian Alps and flowing into Lake Garda at Torbole. As an emissary of the lake it becomes known as the Mincio river, forming a single river system 203 kilometres (126 mi) long (Sarca-Mincio).
The Sole Valley is a valley in Trentino, northern Italy.
Molveno is a comune (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Trento. It is famous for its positioning on Lake Molveno as a holiday destination, its nearby ski resorts (Andalo-Paganella) and its connection to the National Park Adamello Brenta.
The Chiese, also known in the Province of Brescia as the Clisi, is a 160-kilometre (99 mi) Italian river that is the principal immisary and sole emissary of the sub-alpine lake Lago d’Idro, and is a left tributary of the Oglio.
Stelvio National Park is a national park in northeast Italy, established in 1935.
The European Geoparks Network (EGN) functions as the regional organization of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) and the UNESCO International Geosciences and Geoparks Programme (UNESCO-IGGP). Its main objective is to ensure cooperation between geoparks for the protection of geological heritage and the promotion of sustainable development of their territories in Europe. In 2020 January, the EGN had 75 institutional members from 26 European countries and there are several aspiring geopark projects, applying for a UNESCO label and therefore the permanent EGN membership.
The Madonie Regional Natural Park is an Italian regional park located in Sicily, between Palermo and Cefalù and covers 39,972 acres.
Cima Brenta is the highest mountain in the Brenta group, a subgroup of the Rhaetian Alps in the Italian Region of Trentino-Alto Adige, with a reported height of 3,150 metres (10,330 ft). The mountain rises imposingly up between the rock towers and pinnacles of the central Brenta Group. A sharp ridge connects the mountain on its southern side to the Spallone die Massodi. The northern ridge steeply descends towards Bocca del Tuckett. Towards north west a slender couloir descends all the way from the top towards the Vedretta di Brenta Inferiore, the mountain's 'lower' glacier. Large shouldering formations extend towards the west, culminating in the Cima Mandrone and the Punti di Campiglio, and northwest, culminating in the Cima Massari. Above these formations a glacier, the Vedretta di Brenta Superiore, the 'upper' glacier descends the mountain, being cut off by a vertical precipice over the Vedretta di Brenta Inferiore. On the eastern side the mountain rises up with an imposing 700-meter high vertical rock face with on its left side a distinct orange-like color. Above this lies a horizontal ledge, the Cengia Garbari, on which the Via delle Bocchette Alte proceeds. The actual mountain has two summits that are some 250 meters apart, of which the eastern top reaches the highest altitude. The glaciers, vedrette, have been shrinking steadily over the last decades as a result of climate change. The historical name Cima Brenta was not always as evident as it is today. The toponymy of these parts was largely established by Nepomuceno Bolognini. The mountain, somehow, became a place where nationalistic sentiments were demonstrated. In 1889 the Austro-Hungarian authorities decided to rename the mountain to Kaiser Franz Josef-Spitze. The name never caught on -not even in German literature. When the occasion occurred to raise a large yellow-black imperial flag on the summit, fully visible from Val Rendena as well as from Molveno, local guide Giuseppe 'Bepaccia' Zeni and some companions climbed the mountain to take it down. In 1912, on the other hand, the Italian flag was hoisted by irredentists on Cima Brenta, deliberately just before the first snow fall, so that the flag remained visible until the next summer. Around 1953 electricity company SISM, predecessor of ENEL proposed to build a cable car trajectory from Molveno to the top of Cima Brenta. The plans were abandoned and in 1967 the mountain became protected as part of the Parco Naturale Adamello-Brenta.
The Natural Park of Marguareis(in Italian Parco Naturale del Marguareis) is a regional natural park of the Ligurian Alps located in the Province of Cuneo.
The Adamello Regional Park is a nature reserve in Lombardy, Italy. Established in 1983, it encompasses the Lombard portion of the Adamello-Presanella Alps; together with the adjacent Stelvio National Park, Swiss National Park and Adamello Brenta Natural Park, it forms the largest protected area in the Alps, nearly 400,000 hectares.
The Friulian Dolomites, also known as Dolomiti d'Oltre Piave are a mountain range in the Carnic and Gailtal Alps. They are located in northeastern Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in northeastern Italy. They are the easternmost dolomitic group. As part of the Dolomites, they have been officially recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site under the World Heritage Convention, and most of their area is also covered by the Friulian Dolomites Natural Park.
The Maritime Alps Natural Park is a nature reserve in Piedmont, Italy. Originally established in 1980 as the Argentera Natural Park, in an area previously part of a royal hunting reserve established by Victor Emmanuel II in 1857, it assumed its current name and form in 1995, when it was merged with the Palanfrè Woods and Lakes Natural Reserve. Located near the border with France, the park borders the Mercantour National Park.
The Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino Natural Park is a nature reserve in Trentino, Italy. Established in 1967, it stretches over nearly 20,000 ha in the Dolomites, encompassing the Pale di San Martino massif, the Paneveggio forest, and the easternmost part of the Lagorai range, between the valleys of Fiemme, Fassa, Primiero, and Vanoi.
The Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park is a nature reserve in Veneto, Italy. Established in 1990, it is entirely located in the territory of Cortina d’Ampezzo, in the Province of Belluno, and encompasses some of the most famous Dolomitic groups, such as the Tofane, Monte Cristallo, the Croda Rossa d'Ampezzo, Lagazuoi, Pomagagnon and Col Bechei. Together with the adjacent Naturpark Fanes-Sennes-Prags in the Province of Bolzano, it forms a protected area of 37,000 hectares in the heart of the Dolomites. The park has been designated as a Site of Community Importance, and about one quarter of its territory is afforded further protection through twenty smaller reserves.
The Parco naturale lombardo della Valle del Ticino is a Nature reserve established on 9 January 1974. It was the first Italian regional park to be established and the first European river park. The park is located along the banks of the river Ticino, in Lombardy, in the provinces of Milan, Pavia and Varese, in an area of 91,410 hectares between Lake Maggiore and the Po. The park borders the Parco naturale della Valle del Ticino, located on the other side of the river in Piedmont, created in 1978. In 2022 the two Parks were included by UNESCO in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
