Gran Bosco di Salbertrand natural park

Nature and culture in the upper Susa Valley

The Gran Bosco di Salbertrand Natural Park protects a mixed forest of silver fir and spruce that is unique at a regional level. Already in the 18th century, these fir trees provided the timber for the large straight-grain beams of the most important military and civil engineering works of the House of Savoy such as the Arsenal of Turin, the Basilica of Superga and the Royal Palace of the Venaria Reale.

Today the specificity of this forest is linked to the conspicuous presence of these two tree species, rare in the Western Alps; it is probable that their spread in the Gran Bosco has two main causes: a particular microclimate, with stagnation of atmospheric humidity, and the existence of an ecotype resistant to summer drought. For these reasons, combined with the vegetative vigor and the good conformation of the trunks, the populations of spruce, stone pine and larch of the Gran Bosco have been included in the National Book of Seed Forests and intended to provide propagation material for reforestation throughout the rest of the Alps.

The protected area is crossed by a dense network of hiking routes. Sixteen marked paths, for a length of approximately 70 km, cover the territory from the valley floor to the crest and from east to west. Itineraries of international importance such as the Via Alpina, the Glorious Repatriation of the Waldensians, the Great Crossing of the Alps and the Via Francigena allow you to discover the environmental, historical and cultural peculiarities of the area.

The Jack Canali refuges (2509 m) managed by the Park Authority and Daniele Arlaud (1771 m) owned by the Protected Areas are important reception points for excursions and stays.

All dirt roads inside the Park are closed to motorized traffic and can be freely traveled on foot, by bicycle, on skis or on snowshoes. The panoramic Assietta military road closed to motor vehicles on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Identity card

Land surface area (ha): 3,774.74
Region: Piemonte
Province: Torino
Municipalities of the Park: Chiomonte, Exilles, Oulx, Pragelato, Salbertrand, Sauze d'Oulx, Usseaux
Institution: Regional Law n. 51 of 05/20/1980
Official List of Protected Areas: EUAP0208
Managing Body: Ente di gestione delle aree protette delle Alpi Cozie
Tax code: 94506780017

The Park headquarters is in Salbertrand in Via Fransuà Fontan, n.1 - Tel. 0122/854720, info.alpicozie@ruparpiemonte.it

The Gran Bosco di Salbertrand Natural Park was established in 1980 by the Piedmont Region. It protects 3775 hectares which develop on the orographic right of the Susa Valley, from 1000 meters to 2600 meters of the watershed with Val Chisone. Since 2012 it has been part of the system of protected areas of the Cottian Alps together with the Parks Laghi di Avigliana, Orsiera Rocciavré, Val Troncea and the Chianocco and Foresto Reserves. The main reason for its establishment lies in the particular naturalistic value of the actual Gran Bosco: 700 hectares of mixed silver fir and spruce forest, unique in the panorama of Piedmontese vegetation. Its territory is included in the Natura 2000 Network based on the Habitats and Birds Directives.

The Park visitor center is housed in the Salbertrand headquarters and constitutes a welcome point and introduction to the protected area. Some thematic routes start from here (the Oreste Rey and Fulvio Norse educational forest trail, the Colombano Romean Ecomuseum route and the Butterfly Garden) which allow you to discover the area in its aspects, both naturalistic and historical.

Download the Park brochure (4.8 Mb)

download

Depliant_GranBosco.pdf

The fauna

The fauna is varied and interesting thanks to the richness of habitats. The Park has around 140 species of birds, of which around eighty are nesting, with a high percentage of Alpine avifauna. Numerous birds of prey: goshawk, sparrowhawk, buzzard, kestrel, bearded vulture and a pair of golden eagles; among the nocturnal birds of prey: tawny owl, eagle owl and grouse owl. Of note is the presence of the nutcrack, closely linked to the stone pine and, on the alpine meadows, the rest area for numerous migrants including the dotterel plover.

Among mammals, it is not uncommon to encounter hares, squirrels, marmots, foxes, mustelids (ermine, weasel, marten, marten and badger) and four species of ungulates: chamois, wild boar, deer and roe deer. The last two, reintroduced for hunting purposes in the 1960s, in the absence of predators have increased to the point of threatening the fir populations, which is the reason for the establishment of the Park. In 1997 the wolf found in the Gran Bosco a favorable environment for its settlement, forming the first stable pack in the Cottian Alps.

The flora

The flora, characterized by over 600 species, presents the most important forest types of Piedmont.

In the valley floor there are widespread broad-leaved trees such as ash trees, birches, maples, alders and small populations of beech trees; the presence of small yew nuclei is singular. From 1300 meters you enter the kingdom of conifers: up to 1800 meters white fir and red fir predominate; the stone pine is present together with the larch at the highest altitudes and in pure formation, rare in the Western Alps, in the cembreta of the Piccolo Bosco. In the drier areas the Scots pine is found.

Beyond the limit of the tree vegetation, there are rhododendron and blueberry shrub formations and, higher up, alpine meadows. Three rarities are reported: Corthusa matthioli, a primulacea with few stations on the southern side of the Alps, Utricularia minor which finds the only station of confirmed presence in Piedmont in the Blegier peat bog and Menyanthes trifoliata, exceptional for the altitude at which it grows: 2350 m about.

There are 28 species of spontaneous orchids that flower from May to September, including Goodyera repens, Ophrys insectifera, Dactylorhiza incarnata and the very rare Coralloryzza trifida.

The culture

The culture and tradition of the Upper Susa Valley are strongly linked to the history of the Dauphiné and the administrative experience of the Escartons which matured in the territories of Briançon, Queyras, Pragelato, Oulx and Casteldelfino starting from the 14th century. The population's need to safeguard interests and autonomy was recognized by the Dauphin Umberto II on 29 May 1343 with the signing of the Grande Charte, anticipating the main constitutional laws of the modern world by several centuries. To tell these moments of local history and document the material and immaterial culture of the territory, the Spazio Escartons documentation center and the Colombano Romean Ecomuseum were created, a museum that enhances the landscape, architecture, know-how and oral testimonies of the tradition.

The strategic geographical position with respect to the numerous crossings connecting with the territories beyond the Alps has favored the multiplication of interesting military works over the centuries. In the ridge area, within the boundaries of the Park, there are the Assietta trenches, the scene of the famous battle of 19 July 1747, a significant episode of the War of the Austrian Succession, commemorated by the memorial stone erected in 1882 by the CAI at the Testa dell'Assietta (altitude 2566 m).

There are also nineteenth-century fortifications built at the time of the Triple Entente (between 1884 and 1890) for defensive purposes against France: the batteries of Gran Serin, Mottas and Gran Costa. The bunkers on Mount Genevris, in Monfol, in Bergà and near Gad, where the Ponte Ventoso anti-tank trench is also present, built between 1938 and 1942 are part of the Vallo Alpino, wanted by Mussolini and built before the Second War World to protect the Italian border from the transalpine countries.