The Antola Natural Regional Park (in Italian ''Parco naturale regionale dell'Antola'') is a natural park in
Metropolitan City of Genoa
The Metropolitan City of Genoa ( it, Città Metropolitana di Genova) is one of the fourteen Metropolitan cities of Italy, located in the region of Liguria. Its capital is the city of Genoa. It replaced the Province of Genoa.
History
It was first ...
(
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
, Italy). It gets the name from the highest mountain of the area,
Monte Antola
Monte Antola (in Ligurian ''munte Antua'') is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Apennines.
Geography
The mountain is located between the provinces of Genoa and Alessandria. It lies at an altitude of 1597 metres.' ...
.
History
The natural park was established by the ''l.r.'' (regional law, in Italian ''
legge regionale'') nr. 16, April 9, 1985 as modified by the l.r. nr. 12, February 22, 1995. Since April 30, 2014 the Environmental Management System of the park is certified according to
ISO 14001 standards.
Geography
Situated in the inland of the
Italian Riviera
The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...
between
Genova
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of G ...
and
Rapallo
Rapallo ( , , ) is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, located in the Liguria region of northern Italy.
As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and Chiavar ...
, the park protects a scenic portion of the Ligurian
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
. The protected area is mainly located near the border with
Piemonte
it, Piemontese
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and south of the
Apenninic watershed dividing
Pianura Padana
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
(tributary of the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
) from the
Ligurian Sea
The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient ...
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
. It covers over 48 square kilometres
(that is ), plus 5,832 ha under a lesser form of environmental protection named ''aree contigue'' (contiguous areas).
The park encompasses the uppermost part of four short valleys:
* ''Val Vobbia''
* ''Val Pentemina''
* ''Val
Brevenna
The Brevenna is a creek (in Italian ''torrente'') of Liguria, Italy.
Etymology
The origin of the name ''Brevenna'' is certainly not Latin, and may not be Indo-European or Germanic. Linguists connect it to ''brev'', a pre Indo-European root ...
''
* ''Val Trebbia''.
Concerned municipalities
The natural park is shared among twelve different
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
:
Busalla
Busalla is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italy, Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa.
Its territory is crossed by the upper valley of the Scrivia river. Nearby is the artificial Lago della Bu ...
,
Crocefieschi
Crocefieschi () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northeast of Genoa.
Crocefieschi borders the following municipalities: Busalla, Savignone, Valbrevenna, Vobbia.
R ...
,
Fascia
A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. ...
,
Gorreto
Gorreto ( Ligurian and Bobbiese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northeast of Genoa.
Gorreto borders the following municipalities: Carrega Ligure, Fascia, Ottone, ...
,
Montebruno
Montebruno () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northeast of Genoa.
Montebruno borders the following municipalities: Fascia, Fontanigorda, Lorsica, Mocònesi, Rezzoagli ...
,
Propata
Propata ( lij, Propâ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northeast of Genoa.
The parish church of St. Lawrence houses a wooden statue by Anton Maria Maragliano
Anton M ...
,
Ronco Scrivia
240px, Tower of the Castle of Borgo Fornari.
Ronco Scrivia () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa.
Ronco Scrivia borders the following municipalities: Busal ...
,
Rondanina
Rondanina ( lij, Rondaninn-a) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northeast of Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Ligu ...
,
Savignone
Savignone ( lij, Savignon) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa.
Savignone borders the following municipalities: Busalla, Casella, Crocefieschi, Mignanego, ...
,
Torriglia
Torriglia ( lij, Torriggia) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located in the upper Trebbia valley, about northeast of Genoa.
Torriglia borders the following municipalities: Davagna, ...
,
Valbrevenna
Valbrevenna ( lij, Varbrevenna) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northeast of Genoa.
Valbrevenna borders the following municipalities: Carrega Ligure, Casella, Crocef ...
,
Vobbia
Vobbia ( lij, Veubbia) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northeast of Genoa.
Vobbia borders the following municipalities: Busalla, Carrega Ligure, Crocefieschi
Cr ...
.
Main summits of the park
Among the highest summits located in the park can be cited
Monte Antola
Monte Antola (in Ligurian ''munte Antua'') is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Apennines.
Geography
The mountain is located between the provinces of Genoa and Alessandria. It lies at an altitude of 1597 metres.' ...
(1597 m),
Monte Buio
Monte Buio is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Apennines. It is located between the provinces of province of Genoa, Genoa and province of Alessandria, Alessandria. It lies at an altitude of 1400 metres.
Toponymy
'' ...
(1,497 m) and
Monte Prelà
Monte Prelà is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Apennines.
Geography
The mountain is located in the ''comune'' of Torriglia, province of Genoa, south of Monte Antola.
The sources of the Trebbia and Scrivia rivers ...
(1406 m). Also relevant for some aspects are
Rocche del Reopasso (956 m), a rocky summit with interesting climbing routes and a
via ferrata
A via ferrata (Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except n ...
, or
Monte Reale (902 m), bearing an old Catholic sanctuary on its top and a free mountain hut all-year open next to the church.
Wildlife
The most renowned among the animal species living in the park are
wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
, that became extinct in the area around 1850 because of the increased number of inhabitants of that period. They reappeared around 150 years later coming from the central Apennine at the end of the 20th century, and are now an habitual presence in the protected area. They mostly prey on
roe
Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...
and
fallow deer
''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer.
Name
The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes, ...
, which have also reappeared in the park in the last decades. Birds of prey are well represented by
Buteo buteo,
Accipiter nisus,
Falco tinnunculus
The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, wher ...
and
Pernis apivorus
The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.
Etymology
Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera ''Leptodon'' an ...
. Quite common is the
European green woodpecker
The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the ...
and, close to the streams, ''
Alcedo atthis
The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...
'' (common kingfisher), while the population of
red-legged partridge
The red-legged partridge (''Alectoris rufa'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. It is sometimes known as French partridge, to distinguish it from the English or grey partridge. The ge ...
is shrinking due to the decreasing amount of farmland.
Transport
Antola park can be reached by car via motorway (
Autostrada A7, exits of
Busalla
Busalla is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italy, Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa.
Its territory is crossed by the upper valley of the Scrivia river. Nearby is the artificial Lago della Bu ...
,
Ronco Scrivia
240px, Tower of the Castle of Borgo Fornari.
Ronco Scrivia () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa.
Ronco Scrivia borders the following municipalities: Busal ...
or
Isola del Cantone
Isola del Cantone ( lij, L'Isöa do Canton) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa.
Isola del Cantone borders the following municipalities: Arquata Scrivia, Bu ...
) or
trunk road (S.S. 35 dei Giovi, S.S. 226 di Valle Scrivia and S.S. 45 di Val Trebbia). It is also linked to
Genova
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of G ...
by the scenic Genova-Casella
narrow-gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...
.
Hiking
Around 270 km of footpaths, mostly signposted, are available within the park. The ''Rifugio Parco Antola'', a mountain hut located at 1460 m near the summit of
monte Antola
Monte Antola (in Ligurian ''munte Antua'') is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Apennines.
Geography
The mountain is located between the provinces of Genoa and Alessandria. It lies at an altitude of 1597 metres.' ...
, was built by the ''Ente Parco'' and is now managed by the
Club Alpino Italiano
The Club Alpino Italiano is the senior Italian alpine club which stages climbing competitions, operates alpine huts, marks and maintains paths, and is active in protecting the Alpine environment.
It was founded in Turin in 1863 by the then finan ...
. It can accommodate up to 32 hikers or alpinists.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
Pages by the Park Authority on Parks.itOfficial site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antola, Natural Regional Park
Regional parks of Italy
Parks in Liguria
Protected areas established in 1989
Protected areas of the Apennines