Abruzzo and Aosta Valley, Italy
Abruzzo in Italy
The Abruzzo is an Italian region. It lies between the regionsof Brands and Latium as well as Molise and the picturesque Adriatic. In terms of landscape, the region of Abruzzo is part of central Italy, but officially it belongs to the regions of southern Italy. The reason for this is the history of Abruzzo, because from the early Middle Ages to the 19th century the region belonged to the Kingdom of Sicily. The population of Abruzzo was economically and culturally strong with Southern Italy tied together.
Geographically, the Abruzzo region has a typical Italian landscape. It consists of a coastal region, flat land that turns into hill country in the wider course and the mountain region afterwards. Sometimes the mountains of Abruzzo have a height of up to 3,000 meters.
Nature of the Abruzzo
A very large part of the Abruzzo has been placed under nature protection. This includes over a third of the area of the region. Numerous nature reserves and national parks have been established to protect the natural beauty. The Abruzzo National Park in the south of the region is the oldest in Italy.
If you travel to the Abruzzo region, you will quickly find that here national park follows national park. A fantastic opportunity to get to know and discover the flora and fauna in a natural setting. One of the largest parks is the Gran Sasso National Park, which is located around the capital L’Aquila. If you want to experience untouched nature, you should visit the Sirene-Velino in the west.
The Gran-Sasso National Park keeps what he promises. It extends over 150,000 hectares and includes two imposing mountain ranges: the Gran-Sasso massif and the somewhat flatter Monti della Laga. You can see the fascinating and huge limestone walls of the mountains from afar.
Furthermore, the Campotosto Lake is extremely impressive, because here you will also find the Valley of the Hundred Waterfalls, in which huge amounts of water plunge into the depths.
The Majella National Park is ideal for hikers. It has an area of 86,000 hectares and consists of 61 peaks. All are easily accessible and reach heights of up to 2,795 meters. Because the land here is watered by springs, you will find lush forests and dense, lush green meadows on the slopes of the national park in summer. The vegetation here is generally very diverse. Here you can count up to 1,800 different types of plants. Spring in particular is a popular time to travel, because then the meadows are in wonderful bloom and show a sea of thousands of different flowers.
The wildlife toois represented in a variety of species. Here you can find the Apennine wolf, which was shortly before extinction and is now fortunately more common again. He shares the territory with brown bears, golden eagles and numerous chamois, who feel particularly at home in the mountainous landscape. Peregrine falcons can also be observed here on their spectacular flights. The lakes are inhabited by otters and there are also a large number of different types of fish.
Another nature reserve is the Sirente-Velino Regional Park. This is located inland and has a more continental climate. The vegetation is designed accordingly and in this respect is extremely different from the other parks. For example, while the peaks of the other mountains in the parks are already free of snow, here the mountains retain their snow cover until late in spring. In addition, there are very steep gorges and very imposing karst formations.
Aosta Valley in Italy
The Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley has a special statute in Italy. The area is located has an area of 3,262 square kilometers. Around 127,000 people live in the Aosta Valley. This means that the Aosta Valley is also the smallest Italian region. The capital is Aoste.
Landscape and geographical location of the Aosta Valley
The Switzerland borders by the Canton of Valais directly to the Aosta Valley. It is also shared with France regiona border. The Italian region of Piedmont is also in the immediate vicinity of the Aosta Valley.
The landscape of the Aosta Valley is made up of the Dora Baltea valley with numerous smaller side valleys in the adjacent Alps. In the western part the region borders on Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in the Alps. The northern border reaches the Monta Rosa. Of course, the mountains are used for ski tourism in winter, there are some beautiful ski trails in the Aosta Valley.
Since the area of the region is relatively small, it was not divided into provinces. This makes the Aosta Valley the only region in Italy that does not have a single province disposes.
Nature conservation
There are some smaller nature reserves in the Aosta Valley region in order to preserve the vegetation and flora and fauna of the Aosta Valley. In addition, a part of the area belongs to the area of the Gran Paradiso National Park, which impresses with its wonderful and unspoiled landscapes.
The history of the Aosta Valley
During excavations, scientists have discovered that the first residents of the Aosta Valley must have been Celts. They lived in the region until 25 BC. Then the Romans came, conquered the area and took power and rule. So were the Romans, the Augusta Praetoria established. Today’s Aosta emerged from this village in the course of history.
The Romans were replaced by the Burgundians, who took control of the region in the Aosta Valley after the end of the Roman Empire. The Burgundians in turn lost their position of power to the Ostogen. The Lombards replaced the Ostrogoths after they had successfully conquered the area.
Later in history, the Franks invaded the area of today’s Aosta Valley. They took over the rule from the Longbobards and ruled the Aosta Valley for a comparatively long period. From the 11th century until 1946, the Aosta Valley was part of the territory of the Aristocratic family Savoy, with short phases of the French seizure of power in between. In the years 1691, 1704 to 1706 and from 1798 to 1814, France repeatedly regained power, which it lost again and again directly. After 1814 the area fell to Napoleon and was ruled by him.
The culture and language of the region were also shaped by the brief French influence. In the phase of fascism, however, the French language and culture was strictly forbidden in the Aosta Valley and its practice was prohibited. French families immigrated to Italy and had to exchange names and languages. They were given Italian names. After the end of the Second World War the Aosta Valley received a special status. This was intended to counteract the Spearatist efforts. Today the Aosta Valley is officially a multilingual region again ; Italian and French are used equally.
