nature
Italy's Quiet National Parks
The parks where you'll see more boar than backpackers — Stelvio's ibex, Pollino's pines, and the Sila's lost forests.
Curatorial note
Gran Paradiso and Stelvio are the famous names; the others are why Italians keep the south a secret. Cilento is the Amalfi without the audience, the Sila is alpine forest an hour from the sea, and the Foreste Casentinesi is the deepest green in the country.
National Park · Campania
Cilento National Park
The UNESCO park south of the Amalfi — the Greek ruins of Paestum, the wild coast, and the Mediterranean diet heartland. Worth a few days; the wilder, quieter south of Campania.
National Park · Puglia
Gargano National Park
The 'spur' of Italy's boot — a limestone promontory with the Umbra Forest, the white cliffs, the sea caves, and the pilgrim Monte Sant'Angelo. Worth a few days; the wildest of Puglia.
National Park · Emilia-Romagna
Foreste Casentinesi National Park
The ancient forests on the Tuscany-Romagna border — the Sasso Fratino reserve (UNESCO), the Camaldoli monastery, and the wolves. Worth a day or two for the wild; the wildest of the northern Apennines.
National Park · Calabria
Sila National Park
The great forested plateau of Calabria — the 'giant trees', the lakes, and the cool air. Worth a day or two to escape the Calabrian coast; the green heart of Calabria.
National Park · Valle d'Aosta
Gran Paradiso National Park
Italy's first national park, saved for the ibex — alpine meadows, the only 4,000m peak entirely in Italy, and the marmots. Worth a couple of days for the hikes and the wildlife; the alpine-park classic.
National Park · Lombardia
Stelvio National Park
Italy's largest national park, in the Ortler Alps — glaciers, marmots, ibex, and the Stelvio Pass (2,757m). Worth a few days for the hikes and the pass; the alpine wilderness.
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