Nature at its best
Picture a wonderful natural backdrop that ranges from soaring mountains to lush forests, home to one of the most interesting and varied wildlife in Southern Italy: this is Pollino National Park. The park offers an incredibly varied landscape, where man has a very close, centuries-old relationship with nature. The emblem of the park is the Pino Loricato (Bosnian Pine): you can find some specimens in Orsomarso forests, at the foot of Mount Palanuda. In Rotonda, the Pollino’s main hub and official tourist office, you will find plenty of useful information. Nearby, in San Costantino Albanese, you can experience the thrill of soaring up in the air with your friends and family, thanks to the new, four seat zip-wire adventure called “Flight of the Eagle”. Three minutes of sheer fun!
To find out more, visit:
www.parcopollino.gov.it
The most recent protected area of Basilicata, established in 2007, lies in the beautiful National Park of Appennino Lucano ‘Val d’Agri Lagonegrese’.
The area is home to some beautiful villages that will offer you unforgettable experiences through culture, sacred values and nature. Along with the archaeological area of Grumentum, considered to be the most important regional site dating back to the Roman period, and the nearby Archaeological Museum of the Alta Val D’Agri, the park includes the villages of Viggiano and Sant’Arcangelo, the religious heart of Basilicata, famous for the cult of the Black Madonna Patron Saint of the region, and for the Monastery of Santa Maria Orsoleo. Today the monastery houses an interactive museum offering visitors fascinating spiritual journeys in the old and new Basilicata.
The beautiful Pertusillo Lake is another destination of extraordinary interest. This artificial lake, which also serves as a dike for the Agri river, is surrounded by thick woods that extend up to the lake shores.
The area is also famous for its delicious food products and specialities, which are now renowned even beyond the regional boundaries: from the strong-flavoured Canestrato di Moliterno cheese, bearing the PGI label, to Sarconi Beans, also bearing the PGI label and used to prepare exquisite dishes. Each dish takes an even more intense and unforgettable flavour if enjoyed with fine local wines, such as the “Grottino di Roccanova Igt” and the “Terre dell’Alta Val d’Agri Doc”.
Established in November 2017, The Vulture Regional Park is the youngest of the parks and nature reserves in Basilicata. It extends over 57,496 hectares and takes its name from the Monte Vulture, a volcano extinct for millennia of 1326 meters, whose craters are occupied by the most famous representatives of the Park: the Monticchio Lakes. Beautifully reflected in the waters of the lake there is the splendid Benedictine Abbey of San Michele which hosts the Museum of Natural History of the Vulture.
This natural paradise is covered in woods, green slopes, immense plateaus and nature tracks that lead to fairytale landscapes where the Bramea of Hartig, a rare prehistoric nocturnal butterfly, is visible only for a few hours on spring evenings.
The Vulture Park is art, churches and castles, but above all it is nature, tradition, agricultural products favored by the volcanic soil. The hilly Vulture district produces one of the greatest wines of Southern Italy: the Aglianico del Vulture along with other excellent products such as oil, honey and chestnuts. The Park is famous also for the high-quality mineral waters, partly used by the Terme di Rapolla.
The Historical Natural Park of the Rock Churches of Matera, known in Italian as ‘Parco Regionale della Murgia Materana’, stands like an impressive soft-rock sculpture marked by deep ravines, gorges and caverns.
Also known as the Park of the Rock Churches, it consists of more than 150 rock churches, a treasure trove of astonishing religious and cultural heritage. Thanks to its natural wonders and historical places of interest, the Park has become the perfect venue for music concerts and spectacular environmental and cultural events, which are organised throughout the year on these outstanding outdoor stages.
The peculiar morphology of the area makes it possible for the park to host “en plein air” events and initiatives, for both adults and children. Some of these are really unique and exciting, such as the literary and sound trekking, which consists in a walk along the ancient drovers’ roads, breathing in fresh air and the charm of ancient tales.
High-flying thrills
Scattered with majestic, centuries-old Turkey oaks, scented lime trees, wild pear and apple trees, the Gallipoli Cognato forest is one of the most beautiful of its kind in the whole region. The park is dominated by the stunning mountain range of the Lucanian Dolomites, jagged limestone peaks that seem to emerge from the sea. You can either explore this gorgeous and rich scenery by foot, across two of Italy’s most beautiful villages, Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa, or travel across the gorge on the “Flight of the Angel”, an exciting zip-wire ride that stretches between the two villages. You will be actually flying in the air, suspended on a wire between two mountain-top towns.
To find out more, visit:
Flight of the Angel: www.volodellangelo.com
