Description of the attraction
The Gran Paradiso National Park is located on the slopes of the so-called Graian Alps between the Italian regions of Val d'Aosta and Piedmont. The park got its name from the Gran Paradiso mountain located on its territory. It was originally created to protect the Alpine ibex population, but today it also protects other species of animals.
At the beginning of the 19th century, due to the widespread distribution of sport hunting, the Alpine goat survived only in the vicinity of Gran Paradiso - then there were only about 60 individuals. The decline in the population was also facilitated by the belief in the miraculous healing properties of some parts of the goat's body - for example, from a tiny cruciform bone located near the heart of the animal, they made amulets from an accident. Only in 1856, the future king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, announced the creation of the royal reserve "Gran Paradiso" - the trails laid in those years for the Alpine goats are still used today, and are part of 724 kilometers of excursion routes.
In 1922, the Gran Paradiso National Park was created, which became the first national park in Italy. By that time, about 4 thousand mountain goats lived on its territory. However, despite the protected status of the territory, poaching flourished in the park until 1945 - because of this, by the middle of the 20th century, the animal population decreased to 419 individuals. Thanks to the efforts of the park administration alone, there are again about 4 thousand Alpine goats here.
"Gran Paradiso" is spread over an area of 703 sq. Km. in the Graian Alps in northwestern Italy. 10% of the park's land is forested, 16.5% is agricultural land and pastures, 24% is uncultivated, and about 40% is untouched. On the territory of "Gran Paradiso" there are 57 glaciers, which, in fact, formed the local landscape with its mountains and valleys. The height of the park's mountains varies from 800 to 4060 meters, and the Gran Paradiso mountain itself is the only "four-thousander" entirely located in Italy - Mont Blanc and Matterhorn are visible from its top. To the west, the park is bordered by the French national park "Vanoise" - together they constitute the largest protected area in Western Europe.
