Description of the attraction
The Pollino National Park is located in the Italian regions of Calabria and Basilicata within the provinces of Cosenza, Matera and Potenza. The total area of the park is 1820 square kilometers, which makes it the largest national park in Italy. It got its name from the Pollino mountain range, the highest peak of which reaches 2267 meters.
The park was founded in 1992 to protect both natural landscapes and monuments of history and archeology. Its symbol is the Bosnian pine, since it is in this park that one of the country's last forests of this rare tree has been preserved. In addition to pine trees, the park is home to white fir, maple, beech, black pine, yew and other trees. The kingdom of animals living in these forests is very diverse - there are Eurasian wolves, roe deer, deer and otters. And in the sky soar peregrine falcons, golden eagles, kites, Mediterranean falcons, vultures, alpine jackdaws and yellow.
In addition, the territory of the Pollino National Park includes a number of communes where you can see interesting sights. Among them, it is worth noting the towns of Rotonda, Castrovillari, Morano Calabro with the ancient monastery of Colloreto, Laino Castello, Mormanno, Scalea, Papazidero, Civita and Cerchiara with the Church of Madonna delle Armi. Communities like San Paolo Albanese and San Costantino Albanese have large Albanian-speaking communities. No less interesting is the Valle del Mercuré valley, on the territory of which the remains of prehistoric species of animals were found - a straight-tailed forest elephant and a giant hippopotamus.
As for the Pollino mountain range, which is part of the national park, it is the southern spurs of the Apennine Mountains on the border of Calabria and Basilicata. It is composed of limestone rocks, in which, as a result of erosion, canyons and numerous caves have formed, especially common in the Calabrian part of the massif. In one of these caves - Romito - rock paintings of the Paleolithic era were discovered. The main peaks of Pollino are the mountains of Monte Pollino and Serra Dolcedorma, which overlook the Sibari plain.
