Aspromonte National Park

Last updated
Parco Nazionale dell'Aspromonte
Pentedattilo.jpg
Pentedattilo, a village of Aspromonte
Reggiocalabria mappa.png
Location of Aspromonte in Reggio Calabria
Location Calabria
Nearest city Reggio di Calabria
Area641.53 km2 (247.70 sq mi)
Established1989
Governing bodyMinistero dell'Ambiente
www.parks.it/parco.nazionale.aspromonte/Eindex.html

Aspromonte National Park is situated in the southern section of the Apennines, in Calabria, Italy.

Contents

The park lies near the sea and includes mountain summits with altitudes close to 2000 meters (Montalto is 1,955 m).

The park's territory, crossed by several watercourses, is populated by important species such as Italian wolf, peregrine falcon, Eurasian eagle-owl and northern goshawk. Most of the territory is dominated by forests of beech, silver fir, black pine, holm oak, sweet chestnut and Mediterranean maquis shrubland. A couple of rare species live here: Bonelli's eagle and a tropical fern, Woodwardia radicans.

Surrounded by the Mediterranean, the park is also rich in historical, artistic and archaeological value.

The park obtained recognition of UNESCO Global Geopark on April 21, 2021. [1]

History

An aerial view of the edge of a burned portion of the park in 2021. Dichotomy.jpg
An aerial view of the edge of a burned portion of the park in 2021.

The park was heavily damaged by wildfires in 2021, with suspected involvement from the Italian Mafia. [2]

References

  1. "Parco Nazionale dell'Aspromonte". www.parconazionaleaspromonte.it. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  2. Roberts, Hannah (2021-08-15). "Mafia hand suspected as Italy battles wildfires". POLITICO . Retrieved 2025-06-17.

Bibliography

38°10′N15°59′E / 38.17°N 15.99°E / 38.17; 15.99