The Regional Natural Park of the Ligurian Alps (in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

''Parco Naturale Regionale delle Alpi Liguri'') is a natural park in

Province of Imperia The Province of Imperia ( it, Provincia di Imperia, french: Province d'Imperia, Ligurian: ''Provinsa d’Imperia'') is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the L ...

(

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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

). It was established in 2007 by the '' legge regionale'' nr.34 of 15/11/2007.

Geography

Parco Naturale Regionale delle Alpi Liguri

Situated in the inland of

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label=Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

and

Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

area, the regional park protects some of the most beautiful and important areas of the

Ligurian Alps The Ligurian Alps are a mountain range in northwestern Italy. A small part is located in France. They form the south-western extremity of the Alps, separated from the Apennines by the Colle di Cadibona. The Col de Tende and the Vermenagna valley ...

. The protected territory, over , includes four separate areas, each with its particular features: * ''Zona di Pian Cavallo'': located in the North of the park along the border with

Piemonte it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, it includes the ''Bosco delle Navette'' (a well known

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s and

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

forest) and some natural

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s. * ''Dorsale Monte del

Monte Saccarello , photo = Vetta del Saccarello.JPG , photo_caption = , elevation_m = 2201 , elevation_ref = ''Alpi Marittime e Liguri'', 1:50.000 map n.8, I.G.C. (Turin) , prominence_m = 165 , prominence_ref= , range = Ligurian Alps , listing = , ...

Monte Frontè Monte Frontè is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Alps. It is located in the province of province of Imperia. It lies at an altitude of 2,152 metres. After Monte Saccarello it is the second highest peak in the Ligurian region ...

Monte Monega Monte Monega is a mountain of the Ligurian Alps, in Italy. Geography The mountain belongs to the province of Imperia, in Liguria. In the SOIUSA (''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps'') it belongs to the ''Nodo del Mon ...

'': is the highest part of the park with wide

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

areas. * ''Comprensorio del Monte Gerbonte - M. Toraggio/Pietravecchia'': the area hosts the 600 ha ''Foresta Demaniale of Gerbonte'' and, on the mountains of the French-Italian border, a wide variety of

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

s. * ''Foresta Demaniale di Testa d'Alpe'': is the southernmost part of the park, just some 15 km 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 L ...

; the Barbaira digs a narrow valley across

dolomitic Dolomite () is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite. An alternative name sometimes used for the dolomiti ...

cliffs. Some territories connecting these areas are under a lesser form of environmental protection named ''paesaggio protetto'' (protected landscape).

Concerned municipalities

The natural park is shared among seven 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 ...

Cosio di Arroscia Cosio di Arroscia ( lij, Coxe, locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia. History In 1957 the Avant-Garde Groupe Situation ...

Mendatica Mendatica ( lij, Mendaiga or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia. Mendatica borders the following municipalities: Briga Alta ...

Montegrosso Pian Latte Montegrosso Pian Latte ( lij, Montegrosso Cian de Laite) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia. Geography As of 31 December 200 ...

, Pigna,

Rezzo Rezzo ( lij, Ressu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia. Geography As of 31 December 2004, Rezzo had a population of 390 and ...

Rocchetta Nervina Rocchetta Nervina ( lij, A Rochetta) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Imperia in the Italian region of Liguria. It is located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Imperia, on the border with France. Geography As of 31 D ...

Triora Triora ( lij, Triöra) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia, on the border with France. As of 31 December 2004, it had a populati ...

Geology

Most of the protected area is covered by

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

mountains, with the predominant type of bedrock represented by

flysch Flysch () is a sequence of sedimentary rock layers that progress from deep-water and turbidity flow deposits to shallow-water shales and sandstones. It is deposited when a deep basin forms rapidly on the continental side of a mountain building ep ...

Wildlife

Mountains and valleys of the park, due also to their proximity to the sea, are home to a wide wildlife variety. Rare mammals in the park include stoats (''

Mustela erminea The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Con ...

''), mountain hares ('' Lepus timidus''), European pine martens (''

Martes martes The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...

'') and European snow voles ('' Microtus nivalis''), as well as

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 ...

(coming from Roya valley) and wildcats (''

Felis silvestris The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its fur is ...

''). Among birds can be noticed the presence of the black woodpecker (''

Dryocopus martius The black woodpecker (''Dryocopus martius'') is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the ...

'') and Eurasian eagle-owl (''

Bubo bubo The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and female ...

''), the biggest European bird of prey. In the woods neststhe black grouse ('' Tetrao tetrix''), and the eagle (''

Aquila chrysaetos The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

''), although close to the limit of its geographic

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

, lives on the park's cliffs. The caves located in the park host a good variety of

bats Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

; among insects some endangered species of

coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

of the protected area are '' Haptoderus nicaeensis'', '' Percus villai'' and '' Pterostichus morio''.

Hiking

A wide range of footpaths is available within the park, that is crossed from south-west to east by the ''

Alta Via dei Monti Liguri The ''Alta Via dei Monti Liguri'' (AV, literally "High Route of the Ligurian Mountains") is a long-distance waymarked hiking trail in the Italian region of Liguria. In about and 44 day hikes, it runs through the arc formed by Ligurian Alps ...

'', a long-distance trail from

(province of

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Muss ...

) to

Bolano Bolano ( lij, Bolan) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about northeast of La Spezia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,490 and an are ...

(province of

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

References

External links

Pages by the Park Authority on Parks.it

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpi Liguri Regional parks of Italy Parks in Liguria Protected areas established in 2007 Protected areas of the Alps Ligurian Alps