Lessinia Regional Park

Nature reserve in Veneto, Italy

Parco naturale regionale della Lessinia

Location| Veneto, Italy
Coordinates| 45°41′N 11°03′E﻿ / ﻿45.683°N 11.050°E﻿ / 45.683; 11.050
Area| 10,201 hectares
Established| 1990
lessiniapark.it

The Lessinia Regional Park (Italian: Parco naturale regionale della Lessinia) is a nature reserve in Veneto, Italy. Established in 1990, it covers the northern part of the Lessinia region, in the Venetian Prealps, between the provinces of Verona and Vicenza. It is both a Special Protection Area and a Site of Community Importance.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

The park stretches over 10,000 hectares in the territory of fifteen municipalities, thirteen of which belong to the province of Verona and the remaining two to the province of Vicenza; it encompasses all the mountains of the province of Verona, between 1,200 and 1,900 meters above sea level, except for Monte Baldo. The highest point of the park is the peak of Monte Zevola, 1,976 meters above sea level.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Agroforestry and silvopasture have played an important role in shaping Lessinia, with much of its territory consisting of pastures – among the most extensive pasturages in the Italian Alps. Cows, sheep (including the Brogna, a breed unique to Lessinia), goats and horses are bred in the region.[14][15]

The park's flora consists of hornbeams, oaks and chestnuts in the valleys, beeches and pines at higher elevations, and alders, mountain pines and rhododendrons at the highest altitudes. The fauna includes red deer, roe deer, chamoises, marmots, foxes, European hares, golden eagles, Eurasian eagle-owls, Western capercaillies, black grouses, hazel grouses, snow buntings, Alpine newts, and fire salamanders.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Wolves, which had become extinct in the region in the first half of the 19th century, made their return in 2012, when Slavc, a male wolf coming from Slovenia, formed a breeding pair with Giulietta, a female coming from farther west in the Italian Alps; Giulietta gave birth to at least 42 wolves over the next decade, heavily contributing to the reintroduction of the species in the Eastern Alps.[23][24]

The park was managed by the mountain community of Lessinia until 2019, when a body specifically tasked with its management was created, in compliance with a new regional law.[25] In 2020, five municipalities proposed to cut the park's area by 2,000 hectares, claiming that the park imposed excessive restrictions and bureaucracy on agricultural activities; the proposal was approved by the regional council of Veneto, but dropped following massive protests by environmentalists, including a symbolic march by 10,000 people in the territory of Bosco Chiesanuova, where the seat of the park is located.[26][27][28][29][30]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ I siti del Veneto
2. ^ Fondo Ambiente Italiano
3. ^ Altalessinia
4. ^ VisitLessinia
5. ^ Regione Veneto
6. ^ Parks.it
7. ^ Il parco regionale della Lessinia
8. ^ Fondo Ambiente Italiano
9. ^ Altalessinia
10. ^ VisitLessinia
11. ^ Regione Veneto
12. ^ Parks.it
13. ^ Il parco regionale della Lessinia
14. ^ Pecora Brogna
15. ^ Alti pascoli della Lessinia
16. ^ La fauna del parco
17. ^ Fondo Ambiente Italiano
18. ^ Altalessinia
19. ^ VisitLessinia
20. ^ Regione Veneto
21. ^ Parks.it
22. ^ Il parco regionale della Lessinia
23. ^ Approfondimento sulla presenza del lupo in lessinia
24. ^ Slav e Giulietta, cuori di lupo
25. ^ Legge regionale 23/2018
26. ^ Oltre 10mila persone per dire no al taglio del parco della Lessinia (FOTO e VIDEO). Gli organizzatori: “È un successo”
27. ^ Veneto, almeno 7mila persone in cammino per salvare il Parco della Lessinia che la Lega vuole tagliare. Zaia tace, il Pd: “Finge di non sapere”
28. ^ Parco della Lessinia, ridotti i confini Raffica di reazioni
29. ^ Parco ridotto, è scontro in Lessinia
30. ^ Parco della Lessinia, Gava: "Nessuna riduzione dell'area"

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Media related to Parco naturale regionale della Lessinia at Wikimedia Commons