Erminio Sipari (1 December 1879 – 28 January 1968) was an Italian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, author of studies on the preservation of nature and founder of Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, which he chaired from 1922 to 1933.

Biography

Sipari was born in Alvito,

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. His family, well known in

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

, had many properties in

Terra di Lavoro Terra di Lavoro (Liburia in Latin) is the name of a historical region of Southern Italy.Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

and

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

. His father was the brother of Luisa Sipari, the mother of

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce, ( , ; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...

, and his mother, Cristina Cappelli, came from a noble family. Erminio studied in Rome and graduated in civil engineering at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

, after which he specialized in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. Back in Italy in 1905, he established his own engineering firm, based in Rome and

Pescasseroli Pescasseroli (; or ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of L'Aquila, in southern Abruzzo, central-southern Italy. A summer and winter resort, it is also the location of the Abruzzo National Park, nestled in the heart of the Monti Mar ...

. In 1913, when Sipari was first elected in the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

, he took the opportunity to draw attention to the real threat of extinction of important species, such as the Abruzzo chamois and the

Marsican brown bear The Marsican brown bear (''Ursus arctos arctos'', formerly ''Ursus arctos marsicanus''), also known as the Apennine brown bear, is a critically endangered population of the Eurasian brown bear, with a range restricted to the Parco Nazionale ...

, and proposed the creation of a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in the area of

Marsica Marsica is a geographical and historical region in Abruzzo, central Italy, including 37 ''comuni'' in the province of L'Aquila. It is located between the plain of the former Fucine Lake, the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise, National Par ...

. In 1921 he was appointed as

Undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

of State to the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

. In the same year, he founded the "Ente Autonomo of the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo", who leased 5 square kilometres of land to be protected in the district of Opi. In September 1922 Sipari opened the Park in Pescasseroli. After, the park was recognized by Italian law (January 1923). As its president, Sipari argued that the Abruzzo National Park must protect

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

and

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

, but also allow the birth of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. He was able to create and manage a park based on

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

. He wrote numerous articles on the birth of the National Park and also a comprehensive report, called ''Relazione Sipari'' (1926), which at the time was considered the main promoter of nature conservation in Italy.L. Piccioni, ''Nature preservation and protection in Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century Italy (1880-1950)'', in Armiero – Hall (ed.), ''Nature and History in Modern Italy'', Ohio University Press, 2010
p. 266
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Lorenzo Arnone Sipari (ed.), ''Scritti scelti di Erminio Sipari sul Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo (1922-1933)'', Temi,

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

2011; *Luigi Piccioni, ''Erminio Sipari. Origini sociali e opere dell'artefice del Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo'',

University of Camerino The University of Camerino () is a university located in Camerino, Italy. It is the best university of Italy among those with fewer than 10,000 students, according to the Guida Censis Repubblica 2011 and 2012 ranking. It claims to have been foun ...

1997; *James Sievert, ''The Origins of Nature Conservation in Italy'', Peter Lang, Bern 2000, pp. 165–181. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sipari, Erminio Nature writers Italian Radicals politicians Italian conservationists Engineers from Rome Italian essayists Italian male non-fiction writers Italian naturalists Abruzzo People from the Province of Frosinone 1879 births 1968 deaths Italian male essayists