The Pollino National Park designated by UNESCO as World Geopark, is the wider protected natural land in Italy.

It extends for 192.565 hectares embracing 32 municipalities in Calabria and 26 in Basilicata regions. These are aggregated by a millennial connection with the Pinus Heldreichii, a protected arboreal species which is impossible to be found elsewhere in the country.

The communities living in this wide area mainly shepherds and farmers merge their culture with the Arbereshe people. Even before the park establishment in 1993, they have Been playing an indispensable role in the preservation of the territory. Deep gorges, wide valleys and large massifs characterize the park with furrowed, both on the surface and on the underground by significant waterways.

Biodiversity reveals its maximum magnificence through the rich diversification of animals and plants species, protected by different preservation operations. The European Life Streams Project for habitats and river species, project aimed to reintroduce and monitor the griffons, deers and wild cats are only few examples of the activities carried out by the Park authorities. The challenge is to preserve a vast ecosystem where the liaison “man-nature” is noticeable and marked by an everlasting link.