Parco Regionale dello Stirone e del Piacenziano, Regional park between Parma and Piacenza provinces, Italy

Parco Regionale dello Stirone e del Piacenziano stretches between the provinces of Piacenza and Parma along the Stirone torrent and the badlands of the former Piacenziano geological reserve. It is divided into four zones: integral protection (about 219 ha, fossils, access only for scientific or educational purposes), general protection (about 481 ha), environmental protection (about 1081 ha, less intensive farming) and facilities (about 149 ha, equipped areas and car parks). Hunting is banned in all four.

The territory became protected in 2011, transforming farmland into a reserved area for geological formations and natural habitats. This change recognized the scientific importance of the landscape.

The ancient trade routes Via Emilia and Via Francigena pass through the area, linking historical settlements, castles, and parish churches. These paths still shape how people experience the landscape today.

The park is split into four zones: Zone A (about 219 ha) is closed to the public and reserved for scientific and educational visits, while Zone B (about 481 ha) and Zone C (about 1081 ha) allow low-impact farming. Facilities such as equipped areas and car parks sit in Zone D (about 149 ha), and hunting is banned in all four zones. The fossil-bearing stretches lie in Zone A, so look for fossils in the museum collections rather than along the riverbed.

The erosive action of the Stirone, partly natural and amplified by gravel extraction from the riverbed, has exposed marine sediments of the Po margin. Finds include turtles, several cetaceans and shells; the Miocene whale Plesiobalaenoptera quarantellii is among the specimens shown at the MuMAB museum in Millepioppi, opened in September 2020.