Gran Paradiso National Park, National park in Aosta Valley, Italy
Gran Paradiso National Park is a protected area in the Graian Alps of Aosta Valley, covering alpine meadows, mountain forests, and glacial zones. The landscape ranges from fir woods at lower levels to rock faces and snowfields near the summits.
In 1856 Vittorio Emanuele II made the Gran Paradiso valleys a royal hunting reserve, after Carlo Felice had banned ibex hunting in 1821. His grandson Vittorio Emanuele III donated the original 21 square kilometres in 1920, and the park was established on 3 December 1922 as Italy's first national park, with about 3,000 ibex.
The name comes from the icy summit that dominates the valleys and has served as a landmark for local herders for centuries. Stone walls and old shepherd paths along the slopes recall the time when these mountains were used for grazing and seasonal migration.
The park's 724 km of marked trails and mule tracks include the stone-paved royal mule paths built for Vittorio Emanuele II, most still walkable; the best-preserved stretch runs from Colle del Nivolet past the Gran Piano hunting lodge to Noasca in Valle Orco. Paths climb above 2,000 m and reach Col du Loson at 3,296 m and Colle della Porta at 3,002 m.
The ibex is the park's symbol, and the 1821 royal decree of Carlo Felice banned its hunting across the kingdom, saving it from extinction. A small cross-shaped bone near the animal's heart was once worn as a talisman against violent death. The park's marked trails, about 724 km, follow paths first laid out for the ibex.
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