The Giro d'Italia in the Parks of the Cozie Alps

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, the Giro d'Italia will pass through the Orsiera Rocciavré Natural Park, crossing the Colle delle Finestre with an ascent from the Valley of Susa and a descent on the Val Chisone side. It will be a beautiful day of sport and celebration, especially since the stage is expected to be one of the most interesting and fiercely contested, with the ascent to Cima Coppi, the highest pass of the event at Colle delle Finestre, standing at 2176 m, after 8 km of dirt road.
For a protected area, major events serve as an important showcase to promote the beauty of a safeguarded and managed territory, but they also represent a significant impact on the environment due to the high concentration of people and vehicles that will gather throughout the day in a very small portion of land. To minimize potential damage to the delicate and precious ecosystems along the route of the stage, the Parks of the Cozie Alps, together with the organizers of the Giro d'Italia, have established a plan aimed at providing useful information, particularly to the large public attending the race, in addition to municipal ordinances and specific prohibitions.
Through the communication channels of the Giro d'Italia and the Park Authority, and thanks to a series of signs placed along the road, the goal is to convey some simple conduct rules to adopt in a protected area, explain the reasons for them, and list the main prohibitions that can be sanctioned by enforcement staff on duty.

Observation areas and prohibited zones

Along the stretch of road within the Orsiera Rocciavré Natural Park, 26 observation areas have been identified where the concentration of the public has a lesser impact. These are openings and platforms where it is preferable to wait for the cyclists' passage. Naturally, during the hottest phases of the race, people will spread along the entire roadway to cheer for the athletes, with the request to stay as close as possible to the track.
In this time of year, between late spring and early summer, the species populating the pastures and all mountain environments are in full activity and suffer from trampling by many people present. In particular, especially on sun-exposed slopes, a beautiful blooming of delicate wild orchids is underway. We must also consider the entomofauna and herpetofauna – generally insects, reptiles, and amphibians – that have come out of their winter dormancy and, due to their limited mobility, cannot find shelter in safe places like faster and larger species.
To protect these – and other – specimens of fauna and flora, two areas have been identified where public access is prohibited. The first is at Colle delle Finestre, straddling the watershed, between the carriage road and the ruins of the Forte delle Finestre. The second is located in front of observation area no. 26 in the Pian dell'Alpe zone. Both will be indicated and marked by appropriate signage.

Behavior regulations

To provide clear guidelines based on the main issues raised by the event and the type of audience present, it has been decided to focus on the 8 most important conduct rules.

• Avoid trampling fauna and flora.
• Encourage people not to collect plants, flowers, or minerals.
• Protect animals from major disturbances.
• Protect the public present from fire hazards by prohibiting open flames.
• Urge people not to leave waste behind.
• Reiterate that dogs are allowed but must be strictly on a leash.
• Avoid wild camping that greatly disturbs nocturnal fauna.
• Reinforce the message that the use of motorized vehicles on the road is not only prohibited during the Giro d'Italia but also banned until the summer opening on June 15.

Prohibitions… and penalties

Non-compliance with regulations within a Park causes environmental damage that cannot be compensated by a penalty. For this reason, the main objective of technical and enforcement staff is to prevent violations. However, prohibitions exist and are sanctioned. The panels placed along the route specify the regulatory references and the monetary fines applied.

One species among many

In Protected Areas, human beings are one among many species that populate the ecosystem. The goal of a Park Authority is to safeguard the environment and the people who inhabit and frequent it for work and leisure activities. Hosting a major event like the Giro d'Italia certainly has negative consequences on ecological balances but should also be an opportunity to stimulate greater public sensitivity towards environmental respect to be adopted within protected areas and in everyday life.