Avigliana Lakes Natural Park

A park of water and sky

The Avigliana Lakes are located in the lower Susa Valley, on the edge of the Torino plain. Their origin is glacial: they are typical intra-morainic lake basins, created due to the retreat of the glacial blanket that occupied the valley in the Pleistocene (between 750,000 and 10,000 years ago).

The glaciations most likely generated four lake basins, two of which - the Trana peat bog and the Mareschi swamp - were filled in by debris transported downstream by the erosion of the surrounding hills. The two remaining lakes have very different characteristics: the Lago Piccolo (Small Lake) of 60 hectares (356 m above sea level), pours its waters into the Lago Grande (Large Lake) of 90 hectares (352 m above sea level) and has greater natural characteristics as it is surrounded by woods, meadows and a band of reeds where the main species of ichthyofauna and avifauna present in the area find refuge. The Lakes of Avigliana, the Palude dei Mareschi and the hilly reliefs to the west of Lago Piccolo and to the north of Lago Grande constitute environments of significant faunal and botanical interest, also protected at European level by the Habitats Directive and qualified as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

The Natural Park, established in 1980, is important for the conservation of aquatic avifauna, in particular the wintering ones, and for ichthyofauna including a good population of native species present especially in Lago Piccolo. In addition to the actual lakes, two other types of environments are protected: the hills and the Mareschi swamp. The more humid mountains to the west of Lago Piccolo have the majority of watercourses that feed the basins, while the hills to the north of Lago Grande, along the ridge that connects Monte Pezzulano and Monte Capretto, are characterized by more humid environments. buckets with xerothermic flora and numerous erratic boulders of considerable size testifying to the ancient glaciers that occupied the area. The Mareschi swamp, at the northern end of the natural park, is the wetland area along which the waters of the lakes flow towards the Dora Riparia through the emissary of the Canale della Naviglia. It is a renaturalized environment where the discreet presence of human activities coexists with uncontested nature.

Identity card

Land surface area (ha): 409.39
Regione: Piemonte
Province: Torino
Municipalities of the Park: Avigliana
Institution: Regional Law n. 46 of 05/16/1980
Official List of Protected Areas: EUAP0205
Managing Body: Ente di gestione delle aree protette delle Alpi Cozie
Tax code: 94506780017

The Park headquarters is in Avigliana in Via Monte Pirchiriano n.54 - Tel. 011.9313000 - 011.9341405 - 011.4326589, info.alpicozie@ruparpiemonte.it

Since 2012 the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park has been part of the Ente di gestione delle aree protette delle Alpi Cozie together with the Orsiera Rocciavré Natural Park, the Gran Bosco di Salbertrand Natural Park, the Val Troncea Natural Park, the Orrido di Foresto Nature Reserve, the Orrido di Chianocco Nature Reserve and 16 sites of the Natura 2000 network.
The main reasons for protection are the protection of the Mareschi wetland and the restoration and conservation of the hydrobiological conditions of the two lakes in addition to the purposes common to all protected areas.
Being located in an urban context, just over 20 km from Torino, it collaborates with the City of Avigliana to encourage respect for natural balances and promote sustainable fruition activities.

Download the Park brochure (3.5 Mb)

download

DepliantA3_Avigliana.pdf

The fauna

Among the 54 species of avifauna recorded in the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park, 13 are included in the annexes of the European Union Birds Directive. Hundreds of birds of various species such as pochards, tufted ducks, teals, wigeons, moorhens and shovelers are concentrated in the area, particularly in the autumn and winter periods.

In addition to the most common species in Piedmont, some pairs of great crested grebe also nest in the lakes, whose courtship parade called mirror dance can be observed between the end of winter and the beginning of spring; the characteristic floating nest built by the couples and the subsequent transport of the chicks on the backs of the parents during the first movements on the surface of the water represent a spectacle easily observable from the banks of the lakes. The water rail, the reed warbler, the marsh bunting and the gray heron also live in the Mareschi marsh area.

Even in terms of ichthyofauna, the Avigliana Lakes host a valuable population with numerous native species of the Piedmontese territory: cyprinids (chub, carp and rudd), Italian pike, bleak, tench, royal perch and roach. The rare crayfish has been reported in the tributary streams of Lago Piccolo. Unfortunately, the reservoirs also have invasive non-native species such as catfish, speckled catfish and Louisiana red crayfish.

Also important is the presence of amphibians in the wetlands including frogs, tree frogs, toads, salamanders and newts. Finally, among the terrestrial fauna we note mammals such as roe deer, foxes, badgers, red squirrels and martens as well as birds such as woodpeckers, tits, finches, chicks, jays, orioles, goldfinches and birds of prey such as marsh harriers, buzzards and kites.

The flora

In addition to the reed thickets and the typical species of wetlands, the Avigliana Lakes Natural Park is characterized by two interesting types of forest present in the hilly areas. To the west of Lago Piccolo there is a prevalence of coppice forest with oak, chestnut, hornbeam and tall ash, while to the north of Lago Grande the exposure to the south has produced colonization by xerothermophilous species including downy oaks, ash trees, black locust, elm and cherry trees.

The culture

Avigliana, a city of art and history, has developed over the centuries, playing the thriving role of a border city. Its name probably derives from the Roman Avilii family.

The first medieval nucleus of Avigliana, the Borgo Vecchio, stands on the northern slopes of Monte Pezzulano. Since its origins, it has played an important role in trade between Western Europe and Italy as an obligatory transit point on the route to France. Buildings dating from the 12th to the 15th century characterize the evolution from Romanesque to Gothic of medieval Avigliana: the churches (San Pietro, Santa Maria, San Giovanni), the walls, the doors, the porticoes and the noble homes of Piazza Conte Rosso and Piazza Santa Maria along the entire historic center.

Its history is closely linked to the Savoy dynasty, seat of the court with Adelaide and Otto of Savoy, it was the birthplace of the Blessed Umberto III (c. 1127 – 1189) and the Red Count (Amadeus VII 1360 – 1391). Amede VI, known as the Green Count, declared Avigliana a free square and fortified the castle and walls. With the choice of Turin as the capital of the Kingdom, Avigliana lost part of its importance as a border city.

The Castle of Avigliana overlooks the medieval village and is located within the Natural Park. The defensive system gradually evolved from the first nucleus erected to defend against possible invasions by Arduino il Glabro to a stronghold prepared by the Savoys to safeguard the territory, losing part of its military importance, transforming into a castle and noble residence. The bitter vicissitudes of the 17th century determined its ruin, after having suffered serious damage in 1630 (a particularly unfortunate year for Avigliana which suffered heavily from the raging plague) it was destroyed by the French marshal Catinat in 1691.

Coming to more recent history, on the east side of the Mareschi swamp you can observe portions of the monumental remains of the largest dynamite factory in Europe, built in 1872 on the initiative of a group of five Parisian bankers and the Alfred Nobel Company of Hamburg. It remained in operation until 1965 and was then partially recovered as an eco-museum.