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Rocks and Mountains

The Park territory lies in an extremely interesting geological area. The most characteristic mountains of Val Grande like Pedum, Proman, Corni di Nibbio, Cima Sasso and Cima della Laurasca are made of very dark rocks (amphibolite, serpentinite, peridotite), green or blackish, extremely hard and weather-proof, and with a high specific weight. They belong to a section of the deeper continental crust, coming from the transition area with the earth crust (at about 35-50 km of depth), called by geologists "Zona Ivrea-Verbano". However, in the Park we also find elements witnessing the close relationship between man and stone, which has been used as a building material since ancient times.

The Park history is also linked to the exploitation of the rose marble quarries in Candoglia, which were used towards the end of the 14th century to build the Milan Cathedral. By courtesy of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, on October 24th 1387 the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo took possession of all the woods of Valgrande between Cima Corte Lorenzo and Ompio. The timber was used both inside the quarries and in Candoglia by the barge manufacturers, as well as in Milan for the Cathedral scaffolding. This date marks not only the beginning of a frantic mining activity, but also the beginning of deforestation in Valgrande.