- Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre
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Corniglia costa.jpg IUCN Category II (National Park)
Agriculture in the parkLocation of the park
Location Liguria Nearest city La Spezia Area 38.60 km2 (14.90 sq mi) Established 1999 Governing body Ministero dell'Ambiente World Heritage Site 1997 Official website The Cinque Terre National Park is a protected area inducted as a national park in 1999, located in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northern Italy. It includes, in addition to the territory of the three towns of Cinque Terre (Riomaggiore, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare), and parts of the communes of Levanto (Punta Mesco) and La Spezia (Campiglia Sunsets).[1]
The park can be divided into two parts: the National Park and the Marine Protected Area.
Contents
Description
The Cinque Terre National Park was established on October 6, 1999 in recognition of the territory's considerable scenic, agricultural, historical and cultural value. The Cinque Terre National Park and Protected Marine Area aim to protect cultural heritage. This is the first Italian Park created to safeguard a landscape that has been mostly built by man. To achieve its objectives, the Park Organization encourages the development of responsible tourism, able therefore to invest in the identity of the places and the territory's products, and thus save its immense heritage of terracing, now endangered.[2]
The Park protects a coastal area where man has created a stable life and mutual coexistence between self and nature. The villages are terraced with dry stone walls in a coastal environment typically Mediterranean where the mountains of 'Appennino Ligure come straight to the sea, creating a unique environment.
The climate is typically Mediterranean with dry summers and mild winters.
Flora
Even the Mediterranean flora are obvious features, there are many microclimates often different from each other which created a huge variety of landscapes. There are pine, Aleppo pine, corks and Chestnut. Rock and coastal environments produce numerous Mediterranean species such as samphire and sea Cineraria. Flora is visible everywhere even as shrub Rosemary, Thyme, Helichrysum and Lavender. Also present are several species of trees and Succulents clearly visible from many trails.
Fauna
The environment is conducive to the development of life and habitat of several animal species. Among the birds are the Gull, the Peregrine Falcon and the Raven. Among the mammals are the Dormouse, weasel, mole, rate, marten, fox and wild boar (whose presence is resented for damage to crops). The reptiles that thrive in the rock are the wall lizard, the lizard and various snakes such as the rat snake, the grass snake of Aesculapius and the viper; around streams live amphibians like frogs and salamanders.
Characteristic Coastal Stretch of Cinque Terre.
View Of Vernazza.Natural Protected Marine Area of Cinque Terre
The coast along the Cinque Terre is characterized by high cliffs, caves, bays, tiny beaches and cleft rocks. Marine life in the stretch of the coast which extends from Punta Mesco at Monterosso to Capo Montenegro at Riomaggiore is rich and varied. The steep faces of the cliffs under water and the shallows and isolated rocks are populated by various kinds of gorgonia (sea fans), such as the colorful Leptogorgia sarmentosa and the white Eunicella verrucosa, a rare species in the Mediterranean, but fairly common along this part of the coast. The Posidonia oceanica, a plant that creates very important grass-like colonies, grows here and provides a safe habitat for the reproduction of many organisms. The steep rock faces of Punta Mesco and Capo Montenegro have the richest forms of marine life including rare species: the Eunicella verrucosa mentioned above, the rare Gerardia savaglia, or black coral. At a depth of only about 15/20 meters at Punta Mesco, unlike the rest of the Mediterranean, it is possible to discover the fans of the Paramuricea clavata or red gorgonia.[3]
Cinque Terre is also populated with dolphins. This part of the sea is included in the Cetacean Sanctuary, an international protected area where marine mammals can be found.
Administration
The Cinque Terre are composed of five villages: from West to East:
- Monterosso al Mare (commune)
- Vernazza (commune)
- Corniglia (frazione of Vernazza)
- Manarola (frazione of Riomaggiore)
- Riomaggiore (commune)
Other municipalities whose territory is part of the Cinque Terre National Park:
- Levanto
- La Spezia
See also
- Protected Areas
- Province of La Spezia
- Ligurian Sea
References
Coordinates: 44°06′N 09°45′E / 44.1°N 9.75°E
National parks of ItalyNational parks Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise · Alta Murgia · Appennino Lucano - Val d'Agri - Lagonegrese · Appennino Tosco-Emiliano · Arcipelago de la Maddalena · Arcipelago Toscano · Asinara · Aspromonte · Circeo · Cilento and Vallo di Diano · Dolomiti Bellunesi · Cinque Terre · Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna · Gargano · Gennargentu · Gran Paradiso · Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga · Majella · Monti Sibillini · Pollino · Sila · Stelvio · Val Grande · Vesuvius
Categories:- IUCN Category II
- National parks of Italy
- Liguria
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