Parco Pineta: A unique territory to discover

 

The Pinewood Park

PinetaBike was created with the aim of helping as many people as possible to get to know a unique territory of great landscape and historical-cultural importance: the Pineta Park.  The Regional Park of the Pinewood of Appiano Gentile e Tradate (this is the full name), covers about 4,820 hectares. It is located between the provinces of Como and Varese, in the foothills north-west of Milan.  Its extension and its characteristics make the protected area a precious green lung where Nature is free to express itself in a densely urbanized geographical area. Its strategic position and its excellent accessibility (it is also possible to get there by train and bus) make it an ideal natural environment to escape from the stress and chaos of city life.

The landscape

The Pineta’s park looks like a huge expanse of woods (85% of the total territory is woodland) dominated by the presence of pine trees, oaks and chestnut trees. To complete the landscape there are large agricultural areas that often surround beautiful historic farmsteads or rural villages. And there is no shortage of real artistic heritage that deserves to be discovered. The territory in the northern part is hilly, while to the south it softens in an almost flat area. This varies from an altitude of 243 m to a height of 447 m and is crossed by various watercourses.  After a short time from their source, these rivers turn into real torrential valleys, sometimes very deep.

The animals that can be found in the Pineta Park

In this extremely heterogeneous green setting, rich in unique landscape elements, there is no shortage of animal species that, when you are lucky enough to meet, give you unforgettable emotions. In addition to species of amphibians of great ecological importance to enrich the Pinewood Park are many species of birds, including the woodpecker and various birds of prey (goshawk, sparrowhawk, buzzard, kestrel, hawk), and mammals such as squirrels, hares, foxes and badgers. And for about 12 years there has been the appearance of ungulates. These have come in a natural way and have found in the Park a favorable environment and ideal habitats for them. The populations of roe deer, deer and fallow deer are documented to be increasing, thanks to the absence of natural predators and the ban on hunting. The encounter with these, most likely in the early morning hours and in the evening, can leave you really speechless. Wild boar has also been present for 6 years.

The ideal starting point for a visit

The whole of this large protected green area (approximately 13 km long and 6 km wide) covers 15 municipalities. Among these there is Castelnuovo Bozzente, which is the geographical center and home of the park. And right here was born PinetaBike, to offer everyone the opportunity to explore, live, enjoy and have fun in this unique natural territory and all to discover.