We review the Parks of the Duchy the 5 realities

Parks of Ducky: the 5 realities. For each one you will find a geografical location and naturalistic peculiarity

The Natural Protected Areas of Western Emilia, the “Parchi del Ducato” (Parks of the Duchy) are
an extraordinary and varied mosaic of habitats, landscapes, cultures and histories; from the plain,
to the average hill, up to the mountains, in the provinces of Parma and Piacenza.
Agricultural landscapes, small villages, rare and precious animal species, river environments,
woods and forests, are the constituent elements of this environment system, in which the
presence of man is, to a different extent, a richness and a value and not just a threat.
In this complex tissue are enshrined/put/ the specificities of the single Natural Protected Areas,
(well) they consist in 5 regional Parks (Boschi di Carrega, Cento Laghi, Stirone e Piacenziano,
Fluviale del Taro, Fluviale del Trebbia), 4 Reserves (Torrile and Trecasali, dei Ghirardi, Monte
Prinzera, Parma Morta) end the Natural Protected Landscape Colli del Nure.

Parco Fluviale Regionale del Trebbia

Wather and biodiversity: treasures to discover and protect

The Trebbia River Regional Park protects about thirty kilometers of the water course of the same name, from Rivergaro to the confluence with the Po river, by the western borders of Piacenza’s urban area, the upstream section of the confluence, about five kilometers far from the Po river’s bank near Piacenza.

The landscape is mainly occupied by the Trebbia’s exposed riverbed, which is remarkably significant for the migratory avifauna, and by the river terraces where grasslands and shrublands alternate with traditional agricultural cultivations and areas still dedicated to mining activities. Within the Park there are two Sites of Community Importance and Special Protection Areas (SCI-SPA) of the Natura 2000 Network.

Parco Fluviale Regionale del Taro

The symbol of diversity

The Park protects the river stretch between Fornovo and Pontetaro (PR), and it extends over about 2,000 ha,  more than 3,000 if considering the adjacent area.
The managing Authority has been working for years to safeguard this important natural corridor, where highly natural places, agricultural areas and other zones, that have been deeply changed by man, live together.
It is a very important protected area, since it is a migration route and nesting place for many bird species, and it represents an ideal place for green tourism. A few kilometers far from Parma’s town center, it is the perfect environment for easy excursions, itineraries for cycle tourism and mountain bike, for birdwatching and for the proximity to other places of historical and landscape interest: the Ettore Guatelli Museum and the Parco Boschi di Carrega.

Parco Regionale Boschi di Carrega

The refined atmosphere of the ducal woods

Established in 1982 it was the Region Emilia Romagna’s first Park.
It extends over the Quaternary river terraces between the Taro river and the Baganza stream, over about 1,270 ha (2,600 considering the adjacent area too). It safeguards a woody hill area of great natural, historical and cultural interest. The beautiful landscape shows woods alternating with stable meadows and arable lands crossed by many brooks and small artificial sheets of water created for landscape and irrigation purposes between the late 1800s and the early 1900s.
If you like history and art, the Park also keeps some precious architectural jewels, such as the Casino de’ Boschi.
Carrega woods offer many interesting elements all the year round, and the Park promotes several cultural and environmental education activities for schools.

Parco Regionale dei Cento Laghi

A welcoming landscape and typical products well-known all over the world

The presence of different altimetric levels in the Park (ranging between 400 and 1,650 m above sea level) guarantees a noteworthy variety of environments and a high level of biodiversity. A still intact environment, where nature combines with human life to originate the agricultural-food excellences that are well-known all over the world, such as the PDO Parmigiano Reggiano and the PDO Prosciutto di Parma.
A territory where one works… and live!
A welcoming “middle-earth” between the big cities of the Po Valley and the isolated and wild ridge between Tuscany and Emilia.
Established in 1995 as “Parco di Crinale dell’Alta Val Parma e Cedra”, after the establishment (2001) and the expansion (2010) of the Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park, the Regional park reconfigured its territory and changed its “mission”.
Not only the safeguard of the beautiful environments rich in nature and almost completely uninhabited, but enhancement of the mountain rural landscape, which is still in a good conservation status and rich in biodiversity, agriculture, typical products, culture and tourism.

Parco Regionale dello Stirone e del Piacenziano

A stream between walls rich in fossils

The Park, as it is now, was established in late 2011 through the union between the Stirone River Regional Park and the Piacenziano’s Geological Nature Reserve.
The Stirone Area lies between the provinces of Parma and Piacenza, in the municipalities of Fidenza (PR), Salsomaggiore Terme (PR), Alseno (PC) and Vernasca (PC), and it develops on both sides of the stream, with an average width of about 1 km, from the locality of La Villa, upstream, up to the bridge on the Via Emilia, in Fidenza.
The Piacenziano Area develops all over Piacenza’s territory, and it safeguards the nine stations of the former Reserve that are separated one from the other and distributed in five different valleys, all belonging to the municipalities of Castell’Arquato, Lugagnano Val d’Arda, Vernasca, Gropparello and Carpaneto Piacentino.
The whole Park is extremely important from the paleontological point of view, thanks to the remarkable presence of fossils dating back to the Tertiary and Quaternary periods, which made this place famous in the international scientific world.

For all Parks you can give informations to:

Ente di Gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità Emilia Occidentale

Sede: Strada Giarola, 11 – 43044 Collecchio (PR)

Tel. 0521 802688 | info@parchiemiliaoccidentale.it

www.parchidelducato.it

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