PARCO NAZIONALE DELLA VAL GRANDE
 The Val Grande National Park is situated near Lake Maggiore and it is the widest
wild area in Italy. It's 100 km from Milan and 150 km from Turin. It's a one
of a kind and out of this world valley, dominated by silence, where nature is
the queen. It is a "sanctuary" that should be visited with absolute respect. The
Valley is also history. The long tale of a mountain civilization narrated by the
places and people that surround this area among Ossola Valley, Verbano, Val
Vigezzo, Valle Intrasca and Cannobina. Those who don't reach the middle of the
wild zone and stop in one of the surrounding towns can still have "that
sensation of wilderness" . In other words, the Val Grande is a valley of great
emotions as well as being a Park.
 Val Grande was declared a national park in
1991 when it was realized that its 11,733 hectares of oak, beech and alder trees
constituted one of the few areas in the country uncontaminated by civilization
and still left in its natural state . The vast territory includes the minor
valleys of Ossola, Vigezzo and of Lake Maggiore and projects aimed at
conservation and environmental protection have only recently been undertaken;
for 40 years (circa 1950-1980) the area was abandoned and ignored.
 Val Grande is a park on a
human scale and can only be visited on foot due to the difficult access of its
trails. The territory forms a giant heart-shaped area, its right side
(corresponding to Val Pogallo) smaller than its left, and is characterized by
the San Bernardino torrent that flows across its rough and rocky peaks (that of
Monte Togano, for example). The western side of Val Grande is bordered by the
Corni di Nibbio chain includes the famous Pizzo Faié peak.
Turning south it is worth pointing out Cicogna
(the little "capital" of Val Grande) and Monte Zeda. From this point on the
mountains dissolve into gentler and less impervious peaks.
It is also possible to divide Val Grande into two
different parts: upper and lower. The former takes in Val Serena and Val Gabbioto to the
west of the Mottàc chain and Val Portaiola to the east. The lower part of the
park is characterized by zones in which watercourses have carved deep gullies
and plunge over steep precipices.
The green areas of the park are divided equally between grazing pastures
and woods (of durmast, linden, birch, willow), while fauna includes chamois, roe
deer, fox, badger, weasel, hedgehog, beech-marten, hare, marmot, rodent, and
eagle.
Among projects planned for
the park are the re-establishment and cleaning up of the trails, the
construction of visitors centres at Colloro, Rovegro, Santa Maria Maggiore and
Intragna, a historical museum at Malesco and a environmental education centre at
Cossogno. Mention must also be made of the restoration of the old stone huts in
the area to create "environmentally friendly" visitors' shelters characteristic
of Val Grande, the largest wilderness and one of the most important undeveloped
areas left in Italy.
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