Pollino National Park

The Pollino National Park (Pollino Unesco Global Geopark), located between Cosenza, Potenza and Matera with its 192 565 hectares, of which 88 650 in the Basilicata side and 103 915 in that of Calabria, is the largest national park of Italy. It takes its name from the mountain massif of the same name. The park is home to an ancient tree, a loricate pine (Pinus heldreichii), whose age was estimated to radiocarbon in 1,230 years by researchers from the University of Tuscia, who called it Italus .The Pollino National Park was established in 1988, while the provisional perimeter is from 1990, as are the safeguard measures. Between the years 1993 and 1994 the administrative and technical bodies settled: presidency, board of directors and management; the headquarters of the management body is located in Rotonda (PZ) .The Pollino is, therefore, the largest protected area in Italy, including, between the geographical and administrative boundaries of the Calabria and Basilicata regions, 3 provinces ( Cosenza, Potenza, Matera), 56 municipalities (of which 24 in Basilicata and 32 in Calabria), 9 mountain communities and 4 oriented reserves: Rubbio in Basilicata, Raganello, Lao and Argentino in Calabria. Its peaks, among the highest in the south of Italy, they are covered in snow for many months of the year. From the peaks, to the naked eye, we can observe, in the west, the Tyrrhenian coasts of Sapri, Maratea, Praia a Mare, Belvedere Marittimo and, in the east, from Sibari to Metaponto, the Ionian coast. The emblem of the park is the Lorica pine ; some similar specimens are present in other phyto-climatic stations of the Balkan and Greek mountains.

Continue reading on Wikipedia