Pollino National Park ( Italian: ''Parco Nazionale del Pollino'') is an Italian

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

in the southern

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

, in the provinces of

Cosenza Cosenza (; :it:Dialetto cosentino, local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosen ...

Matera Matera (, ; Materano: ) is a city in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. As the capital of the province of Matera, its original settlement lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a comp ...

and

Potenza Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one ...

. Its named from the homonymous mountain massif

Pollino The Pollino (Italian: ''Massiccio del Pollino'') is a massif in the southern Apennines, on the border between Basilicata and Calabria, southern Italy. It became part of the Pollino National Park in 1992. The main peaks include Monte Pollino (2 ...

. The park is home of the oldest European tree, a Heldreich's pine estimated 1,230 years old and the symbol of the park is the rare

Bosnian pine ''Pinus heldreichii'' (synonym ''P. leucodermis''; family Pinaceae), the Bosnian pine or Heldreich’s pine, is a species of pine native to mountainous areas of the Balkans and southern Italy. Description It is an evergreen tree up to in heigh ...

tree. Since November 2015, with the inclusion in the global list of geoparks by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

, the Pollino Park is considered a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Encompassing a total of 88,650 ha in the Lucanian side (''Muro lucano'') and 103,915 in the Calabrian one is the largest park in the country covering 1,925.65 square kilometers and among the 50 largest in the world. The

common beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...

is the park's most prevalent tree and the park is also home to a variety of important

medicinal herbs Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...

. Towns with interesting sights include Rotonda,

Castrovillari Castrovillari ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Geography Castrovillari lies in the north of Calabria, close to the border with Basilicata and within the Pollino Nationa ...

Morano Calabro Morano Calabro ( Moranese: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It was the birthplace of mathematician Gaetano Scorza. Geography The municipality borders with Castrovillari (the nea ...

(convent of Colloreto),

Laino Borgo Laino Borgo ( Calabrian: ) is a town and '' comune'' of inhabitants in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is located on the border between two regions ( Calabria e Basilicata), and lies at the entrance to the P ...

Laino Castello Laino Castello ( Calabrian: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. See also *Laino Borgo Laino Borgo ( Calabrian: ) is a town and '' comune'' of inhabitants in the province of Cosenza ...

, Mormanno,

Scalea Scalea ( Calabrian: , lit. "stair" or "ladder") is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The town takes its name from its terraced layout on a hillside at the bottom of the Capo Scalea promont ...

Papasidero Papasidero is a village and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region, southern Italy. It is part of Pollino National Park. Geography Papasidero is situated on a rocky spur 210 m above the sea level and is crossed by Lao an ...

, Civita, Cerchiara (church of ''Madonna delle Armi''). Albanian-speaking communities are present in communes such as

San Paolo Albanese San Paolo Albanese ( aae, Shën Pali Arbëresheve) is an Arbëreshë village and '' comune'' of 328 people in the province of Potenza, in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. Geography At an elevation of and situated on the slope of Mt. Ca ...

San Costantino Albanese San Costantino Albanese ( aae, Shën Kostandinit i Arbëreshëvet) is an Arbëreshë town and '' comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geography San Costantino Albanese sits on a hilltop overlooking t ...

and others. In the Valle del Mercure have been discovered remains of pre-historic species such as ''

Elephas antiquus The straight-tusked elephant (''Palaeoloxodon antiquus'') is an extinct species of elephant that inhabited Europe and Western Asia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene (781,000–30,000 years before present). Recovered individuals have re ...

'' and ''

Hippopotamus major ''Hippopotamus antiquus'', sometimes called the European hippopotamus, is an extinct species of ''Hippopotamus'' that ranged across Europe during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Chronology In Italy, the first appearance of the taxon is duri ...

''. Rivers and streams include the Lao, Sinni,

Coscile The Coscile is a river in Calabria, southern Italy. In classical antiquity it was known as the Sibarys (Greek: ) and gave its name to the Ancient Greek city. It is the third-largest river in the region in terms of water discharge and extent of ...

, Garga, and Raganello. Wildlife include

golden eagle 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 bird ...

Italian wolf The Italian wolf (''Canis lupus italicus'' or ''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the Apennine wolf, is a subspecies of the grey wolf native to the Italian Peninsula. It inhabits the Apennine Mountains and the Western Alps, though it is und ...

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

, European otter, Calabrian black squirrel, forest dormouse ''(Dryomys nitedula)'',

black woodpecker 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 ...

chough There are two species of passerine birds commonly called chough ( ) that constitute the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' of the Corvidae (crow) family of birds. These are the red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), and the Alpine chough (or yello ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey bac ...

, red kite, lanner falcon,

Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture and the only member of the genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and ...

and

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

(were introduced in the 2000s).

References

External links

Parco Nazionale del Pollino official website
(in English)
Parco Nazionale del Pollino official website
(in Italian) {{Authority control Arbëresh settlements National parks of Italy Parks in Basilicata Parks in Calabria Protected areas established in 1992 Protected areas of the Apennines Primeval Beech Forests in Europe