Description of the attraction
The natural park "Laghi di Avigliana", created in 1980, is located in the Italian valley of Val di Susa at the foot of Monte Pirkiriano with its ancient abbey of Sacra di San Michele. Turin is just 20 km away.
Despite the small area - only 400 hectares, the territory of the park can boast of extraordinary biological diversity. The main attractions of these places, where nature and people are closely linked for many centuries, are the Avilyan Lakes and the surrounding moraine formations - living evidence of the last two ice ages. When the huge Wurm glacier retreated 10 thousand years ago, the history of these reservoirs was closely intertwined with human life. Changes in climate, flora and fauna also changed the way of life of the local tribes who inhabited the lower part of the valley. And in the industrial era, the use of water and other natural resources and widespread urbanization, in turn, changed ancient ecosystems.
Today, the main tasks of the Laghi di Avigliana Park are the protection of the wetlands of Maresca, the restoration of lake ecosystems, the reduction of pollution and, of course, the development of ecological tourism. This small area is very rich in natural and historical heritage, and has long attracted tourists. The Avilian Lakes and the aforementioned Maresca swamps are of particular interest. During the development of local peat bogs, some archaeological artifacts were found, which are now kept in the Museum of Antiquity in Turin and in the Museum of the Faculty of Geology and Anthropology of the University of Turin. No less interesting is the town of Avigliana, located on the territory of the park and closed by the mountain ranges of Montecapretto and Pezzulano with the ruins of an ancient castle. It has preserved numerous medieval monuments. And in different parts of the park there are so-called "museum points", revealing different aspects of fishing activities on the Avilian lakes, starting from the 2nd millennium BC. until the middle of the 20th century.
In terms of natural conditions, Lake Lago Piccolo, with an area of only 60 hectares, is of more interest than Lago Grande (90 hectares), as it is surrounded by forests, meadows and extensive reeds. In autumn and winter, hundreds of different species of birds gather on the shores of the lakes - diving, crested ducks, teals, wiggles, moorhenes and broad-legged ducks. And on Lago Piccolo you can see wild ducks, coots, gray herons and cormorants. In late winter - early spring, if you're lucky, you can admire the spectacular mating dance of the crested Grebe, which is called "mirror".
The Maresca Marshes on the northwest side of Lago Grande contain the ruins of one of the largest explosives factories in the mid-20th century. The plant is considered to be the most interesting example of industrial architecture of the beginning of the last century. It was bombed several times, and during the Second World War it was the site of partisan battles.
