The National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano was established in 1991, extending from Tyrrhenian coast to the foot of the Campania - Lucania, including peaks of the Alburni, Cervati and Gelbison, and spurs coastal of M. Bulgheria and Mount Stella. The territory is vast and varied with the presence of unique environments and many of which still remain unaffected with urbanized areas. In fact it goes from smallest municipality like Serramezzana with just over 300 inhabitants to Capaccio with a population of over 21,000 inhabitants. You can get to some peaks with a height of 1890 meters above sea level.
The Advisory Committee on Biosphere Reserves of the MAB Programme (Man and Biosphere) of UNESCO, at its meeting in Paris between 9 and 10 June 1997, unanimously included in the prestigious network of Biosphere Reserves the National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano.
It has recently been recognized as a Geopark: during the 9th European Geoparks Conference which was held in the island of Lesvos, Greece, from 1 to 5 October 2010, the National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano has become the European and worldwide network of Geoparks.
The logo of the park is the Primula di Palinuro presenting in wide areas of the Cilento.
The fauna
The fauna of the park is quite diversified thanks to the variety of environments in the area such as coastal and mountainous areas, rushing rivers and streams, cliffs and forests. On the summits you can observe golden eagles and their favourite preys: partridges and Italian hares. The eagles divide this environment with other birds of prey such as peregrine falcons, lanner falcons, ravens, and choughs.
Amongst pastures it is easy to observe Savi's pine voles, small rodents preyed upon by foxes, martens and wolves. On these meadows are wall lizards and Italian three-toed skinks. Amongst rich birdlife of beech forests are black woodpeckers, nuthatches, and bullfinches, especially the presence of northern goshawks, birds of prey whose distribution is declining.
On the trees also live mammals such as edible dormice, garden dormice, while other small rodents attending burrows between the roots, such as reddish voles, or amongst small clearings opening in the forest, such as wood mice and yellow-necked mice. These small rodents are amongst favourite preys of wildcats. On tree barks also lives a rare insect: Rosalia longicorn.
Also rich is aquatic fauna with domination of otters, which, perhaps richest in Italy. In areas closer to the springs, where the water is cooler, more consistent and dense riparian forests provide plenty of shade, live rare spectacled salamanders, and the most common salamanders, fire salamanders.
In places with clear waters and rich in oxygen abound trout and dippers; whereas along the banks are small waders such as the Little Ringed Plover; in small pools are the Italian stream frog, the Agile frog, the Apennine yellow-bellied toad, and the common toad; and amongst the rocky gorges are the rare short-toed snake eagle, a large type of raptor that feeds mainly on reptiles of the park. The reptiles are the wall lizard, the green lizard, the four-lined snake, the western whip snake, the viper, and the grass snake.
The flora
The flora population of the park is probably made up of about 1,800 different species of wild native plants. Amongst them about 10% are considerably important or rare. The best known of these species, and perhaps even the most important, is the Primnula di Palinuro, the symbol of the park, a species only found in this area.
On beaches, on the sand is the rare sea lily; on cliffs in direct contact with sea spray are the Salerno Statice; while coastal cliffs on the Mediterranean are studded with precious endemics such as Primula di Palinuro, the Dianthus rupicola, the silver dust, the Iberis semperflorens, and the Campanula fragilis. The arid Mediterranean zone is covered with the Genista cilentina, and the Phoenician juniper. In the coastal area, in particular, the fabric of evergreen forests and maquis is permeated by olive groves. At higher altitudes and inside the Querce are maples, lindens, elms, ashes, and chestnut trees.
And most of the majestic beech forests that cover and protect the mountains, often you come across the rare maple called Acer lobelii. Higher up, on high cliffs and peaks of the Alburni Mountains, Cervati, Motola, and Bulgheria live the very rare Barberry Etna (Berberis aetnensis), endemic saxifrages of south-central (as Saxifraga paniculata subsp. Stabiana, Saxifraga ampullacea and the rare Saxifraga porophylla), the Aubrieta columnae subsp. columnae, mountain Centauree and other rare species. Also are the presence of some of the most common plants such as spontaneous groves of the birch, the silver fir, and the boxwood.
Observatory
Francesco Corbetta, Itinerari naturalistici nel Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano, anno 2005
Photo gallery
