Parco Nord Milano, Regional park in Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy
Parco Nord Milano is a regional park of about 640 hectares spread across Milan, Bresso, Cusano Milanino, Cormano, Cinisello Balsamo, Novate Milanese and Sesto San Giovanni. Its centre is crossed by a long straight route: a broad grass strip with a worn path down the middle, flanked by two rows of tall deciduous trees whose branches arch together overhead. Woodland, clearings, hedgerows and small water bodies make up the rest, with the Niguarda lake fed by the Villoresi canal.
The park grew out of the abandoned Breda Aeronautica industrial areas after World War II. It was conceived in the late 1960s, classified as a "park of public interest" by a prefectural decree in 1970, and recognised as a regional park by Lombardy in 1975. Reforestation began in 1983 under Paolo Lassini of the Regional Forest Authority.
The park's name comes from its position on Milan's northern edge, and its woods and lawns are used for walking, cycling and school outings. The Cascina Centro Parco, the park authority's headquarters, is reached from Bresso. Near the border of Sesto San Giovanni and Bresso stands the montagnetta, a small hill built from steelworks processing waste and later reclaimed.
The park is mostly flat, with cycle and pedestrian bridges over roads, such as the one over the Turin-Trieste motorway near the Via Segantini bridge. The Niguarda lake banks are mostly left natural and cannot be reached by the public. The park is managed from the Cascina Centro Parco, entered from Bresso.
Recent monitoring has recorded the return of dormouse populations to the park, showing successful restoration of natural habitats within this urban setting. This small mammal had vanished from the region for decades and now serves as an indicator of ecosystem health.
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