Pollino National Park (

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

: ''Parco Nazionale del Pollino'') is an Italian

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 southern

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

, in the provinces of

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

Matera Matera (, ; Neapolitan language, Materano: ) is a city and the capital of the Province of Matera in the regions of Italy, region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic (10th mi ...

and

Potenza Potenza (, ; ; , 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 of ...

. 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, being the highest point of both regions. It became part of the Pollino National Park in 1992. ...

. 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'', the Bosnian pine or Heldreich's pine, is a species of pine native to mountains of southeast Europe in the Balkans and southern Italy. Description It is an evergreen tree up to in height, and in trunk diameter. The bark i ...

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

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, the Pollino Park is considered a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. 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 large, graceful deciduous tree in the beech family with smooth silvery-gray bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large ...

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 ...

. 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 (Northern Calabrian, Moranese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). It was the birthplac ...

(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 Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Sou ...

Laino Castello Laino Castello ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza, in the Calabria region of southern Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe ...

Mormanno Mormanno ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is located in the heart of the National Park of Pollino, near the course of the Lao River. It is home to a Cathedral in Neap ...

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 promontory ...

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 and S ...

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

San Paolo Albanese San Paolo Albanese () 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. Carnara above sea level, San Pao ...

San Costantino Albanese San Costantino Albanese () 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 the Sarmento Valley and is located across ...

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. One of the largest known elephant species, mature fully grown bulls on ave ...

'' and '' Hippopotamus major''. 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 Sybaris (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 it ...

, 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 of pr ...

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 unde ...

, roe deer,

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 Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

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 Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

Calabrian black squirrel The Calabrian black squirrel (''Sciurus meridionalis'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'', endemic to the forests of the regions of Calabria and Basilicata, in the south of the Italian Peninsula. Taxonomy It has long been c ...

forest dormouse The forest dormouse (''Dryomys nitedula'') is a species of rodent in the family Gliridae found in eastern Europe, the Balkans and parts of western Central Asia. It is categorized as being of least concern in the ''IUCN List of Threatened Specie ...

''(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 A chough ( ) is any of two species of passerine birds that constitute the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' of the Corvidae (crow) family. These are the red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'') and the Alpine chough (or yellow-billed chough) (''Pyr ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other Diurnality, diurnal Bird of prey, raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harrier (bird), harriers. The species currently breeds only i ...

lanner falcon The lanner falcon (''Falco biarmicus'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It prefers open habitat and is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season. A l ...

Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture in the monotypic genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa ...

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 (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

(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 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