Parco Naturale Paneveggio - Pale di San Martino

The Paneveggio–Pale di San Martino Nature Park protects nearly two hundred square kilometres of the Trentino Dolomites, including the Pale, Paneveggio forest, Val Venegia and the porphyry ridges of the Lagorai.

Why it matters

Created by the Autonomous Province of Trento and managed by its own park authority, the protected area covers about 19,700 hectares across Primiero San Martino di Castrozza and neighbouring territory — a scale at which whole ecosystems work. The destination's official portal describes the park as protecting almost 200 square kilometres that run from the Pale walls to the ancient Paneveggio forest, taking in Val Venegia, Val Canali and the Colbricon lakes. Red deer live among the woods whose straight, resonant spruces made Paneveggio famous as the "forest of violins". The park authority also carries institutional weight beyond its borders: it is a supporting member of the Fondazione Dolomiti UNESCO, which manages the World Heritage property that covers the Pale.

What to notice

The protected area includes the Pale di San Martino, spruce forest beside the Travignolo stream, Val Venegia beneath Mount Mulaz and the porphyry Lagorai. The park's geological accounts distinguish the area's eruptive rock from nearby dolomite. Red deer inhabit the woods, and conservation work includes monitoring, research plots and habitat management.

Context and history

Protection came early here. The area was first designated in 1967 under the province's inaugural provincial plan, later enlarged, and given a permanent management body in 1990 under provincial law; Italian reference works record its present extent at 19,726 hectares, a territory reaching from the Paneveggio forest to the Pale wall and the porphyry of the Lagorai. The park's programme includes research and environmental monitoring, nature education, habitat maintenance and the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism. Human history is part of the mandate too — the park curates Great War sites on its mountains and collaborates with the Vanoi Ecomuseum. In 2009 the UNESCO inscription of the Dolomites added a World Heritage layer to the park's eastern territory.