Parco Regionale Gallipoli Cognato Piccole Dolomiti Lucane

The Regional Park of Gallipoli Cognato and the Lucanian Little Dolomites spans woodland and sandstone formations in inland Basilicata. The park includes the Gallipoli Cognato forest and the jagged rock towers known as the Piccole Dolomiti Lucane, near Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa.

Why it matters

Established by regional law in 1997, the park covers 27,027 hectares across territory in the provinces of Matera and Potenza. Its protected area brings together forest, geological features, wildlife and historic settlements. In 2020, the Council of Europe awarded it the European Diploma for Protected Areas.

What to notice

The Piccole Dolomiti Lucane are sandstone formations shaped into towers and ridges. Names given to individual pinnacles include the Eagle, the Anvil, the Great Mother and the Owl. The Rio di Capperino cuts a gorge between the Murge di Castelmezzano and the Costa di San Martino. The park’s Gallipoli Cognato woodland covers about 4,159 hectares and includes downy oak, hop hornbeam and maple, with tree heath and orchids on more open slopes. The park authority also records nesting red kites, kestrels and peregrine falcons, and monitors the black stork.

Context and history

Protection of the area predates the park. A 1971 ministerial decree established the Monte Croccia state anthropological reserve to safeguard the archaeological area of Croccia Cognato. A landscape plan for Gallipoli Cognato followed in 1990, and the 1997 regional law established the park. Its founding aims include protecting habitats and historic settlements as well as woodland traditions known as culti arborei. The Council of Europe’s 2020 diploma recognised the park under Resolution CM/ResDip(2020)1.