Lagoni di Mercurago Natural Park, Nature reserve in Arona, Italy

Lagoni di Mercurago Natural Park is a protected area of about 473 hectares on morainic hills near Lake Maggiore, spanning the municipalities of Arona, Dormelletto, Comignago and Oleggio Castello. Its core is a wetland of ponds, peat bogs and marshes, with still grey-green water reflecting trees and floating leaves, bordered by reeds and tall grasses. Meadows, horse pastures and woods of oaks, chestnuts and birches surround the water.

In 1860, excavations in the Lagone peat bog revealed Italy's first pile-dwelling remains: wooden platforms and posts sunk into the silt and peat. The finds date to the Bronze Age, and later digs also uncovered Roman domus. Objects recovered over the years include a dugout canoe carved from a single trunk, pottery, hairpins, daggers, a sword and a bronze spearhead.

The name Lagoni refers to the small lakes and peat bogs at the park's centre, not to any trade. Visitors can look for the water chestnut, cattails and water lilies listed among the wetland plants, and for the kingfisher on the brown and white park signs at the Mercurago entrance. Horse pastures and stables set up decades ago by Federico Tesio lie beside these wetlands.

The main entrance and visitor centre are at via Gattico 6 in Mercurago, a hamlet of Arona, marked by brown signs with white lettering and emblems of a kingfisher. The park covers about 473 hectares of morainic hills, so allow time to move between the wetland core and the surrounding woods and pastures. Paths cross wet ground; sturdy shoes help after rain.

Hidden within the protected wetlands are pastures dedicated to raising thoroughbred racehorses, an unusual combination rarely seen in nature reserves. This mix of equestrian breeding and ecological conservation creates a distinctive character found in few other places.