Parchi e Riserve Naturali del Lago Maggiore

During the guided visits in summer and spring, it is possible to admire an interesting aquatic and marshy flora featuring a few rare or very rare species in Italy.
The environment, still almost untouched by man, houses the ancient and remarkable activity of thoroughbred horse breeding; moreover, the areas dedicated to pasture-grassland linked to such activity are particularly charming.
Four archaeological sites, dating back to the Bronze Age, 4th-5th century AD, are situated along a self-guided itinerary; some of the remains found in the Park area are displayed in the Archaeological Museum in Arona.
To promote Environmental Education activities, a didactic laboratory is under construction; in the Park Head Offices/Visitor Center, a collection of bird feathers and a collection of monoliths illustrating the main features of the soils of the Park are on display.
Particular care and commitment are given to the management and recovery of the forests in the Park, by carrying out studies and implementing a "Piano di Assestamento Forestale".
Besides five self-guided thematic routes, there are a cycling route winding up in a natural environment for about 10 kilometers and an archaeological itinerary with audioguide (audioguide rental at the Park Offices).
The Head Offices are situated in Via Gattico 6, in Mercurago di Arona.
The temporary office is situated in the former Scuola Nicotera, in Viale Berrini 2/a, in Arona.

(the following links lead to Italian texts)

• Historical itineraries
• Prehistory and archaeology
• What to do to appreciate the Park best
• What to see

Centro Studi sulle Migrazioni in Fondotoce studies the passage of the avifauna in the canebrake area. During these years, it has been possible to carry out a census of ornithological species that has highlighted the international role played by these species thanks to the capture of ringed birds in several European countries.
During the period of passage (spring and autumn) guided visits are carried out to observe the bird-ringing activities.
In Dormelletto Nature Reserve, a small structure working as a bird observatory will be recovered soon.

In Fondotoce Nature Reserve, besides the intense Environmental Education activity through which interesting experiments have been carried out in every kind of school, there is great commitment for the knowledge of the local cultural and historical heritage. There is also the possibility for the Nature Reserve to co-operate in the management of an ecomuseum.
Remarkable projects are aimed to the possibility of visiting the Nature Reserves, above all through the creation of cycling-pedestrian itineraries connected with the rest of the territory.
In Fondotoce Nature Reserve there are a number of specialized nurseries organizing many promotional initiatives.
In the "lake" Nature Reserves, the Park Authorities is particularly commited to the recovery of areas whose deterioration and pollution have been caused by their abandonment and the inadequate surveillance on the territory.