Description of the attraction
Natural Park "Paneveggio - Pale di San Martino" is located in the Italian ski resort of Val di Fiemme in the Trentino-Alto Adige region. It consists of three different geographic subzones. The northern part of the park is 2700 hectares of spruce forest, which has been protected since time immemorial. In the southeastern part is the Pale di San Martino mountain range, which belongs to the Dolomites. Well, in the western part you can see the porphyritic Lagorai mountain range. Such a variety of landscapes contributed to the formation of numerous ecosystems in the park - there are rocky slopes and stone embankments, meadows and alpine pastures, turbulent water flows and calm streams, impenetrable thickets of spruce and thickets of broad-leaved trees, glaciers and swamps.
Paneveggio - Pale di San Martino is bounded by the Val di Fiemme and Val di Fassa in the north, the Valle del Primiero with the Cizmon River in the south and the Valle del Vanoi in the west. The total area of the park is 197 sq. Km. Spruce thicket, spread over an area of 2,700 hectares at an altitude of 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, has been under state protection for several centuries. The height of the trees here reaches 40 meters! And the forest itself is known throughout Europe due to the fact that famous violin makers come here to choose wood for their future creations. The local spruce, called “abeti di rizonanza”, has an amazing resonance and is ideal for the production of violins and cellos. For the same reason, the forest is known as “La Foresta dei Violini” - the Forest of Violins.
The dolomite complex Pale di San Martino - a huge plateau formed by sedimentary rocks, stretching at an altitude of 2600 meters above sea level, attracts no less number of visitors. About 250 million years ago, this plateau was the bottom of a tropical sea, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of coral reefs in its thickness. The highest peaks are Palais di San Martino - Vezzana (3192 m) and Chimon de la Pala (3194 m). From here you can see another attraction of the park - the eastern slopes of the Lagorai mountain range with its perfectly smooth vertical walls of black, reddish and greenish tones. The color of these rocks is the result of a volcanic eruption that took place almost 300 million years ago.
The first inhabitants on the territory of "Paneveggio - Pale di San Martino" appeared in ancient times - in the 7th - first half of the 6th millennium BC. The finds made in the vicinity of the lakes Laghetti del Colbriccon, Malga Rolle and in the area between Piano dei Tiri and Buca Ferrari date from this period. In subsequent eras, the development of agriculture and the widespread spread of cattle breeding led to a change in landscapes. And during the First World War, bloody battles unfolded in these mountains - for four years the Austro-Hungarian and Italian troops fought here incessant battles. From those times to the present day, gun trenches, fortifications and barbed wire have survived.
In the northern part of the park, there is a small valley of Val Veneja, which is undoubtedly one of the most picturesque local landscapes. It goes along the northern slope of the Chimon de la Pala, from where you can see the Travignolo glacier. Another glacier of the park, Fradusta, can be seen in the Altopiano delle Pale area. Also noteworthy are the small glacial lakes Kolbriccon, on the shores of which primitive hunters lived 8 thousand years ago, Lake Calaita and the charming valley of Val Canali with the peaks of Chimerlo, Sass Maor, Lastrei, Corot, Sass d'Ortigue, etc. Malga Mieznotta is an old farmhouse used for summer grazing in the past. The building was recently renovated and today serves as a mountain shelter.
