After the recent recognition in the’sphere of the paths Longobardorum for the  Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo, the UNESCO has once again awarded Puglia:  the ancient beech forests of the Foresta Umbra del Gargano, where the beeches manage to reach 350 years of età and 45 meters high, were decreed Natural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO World Heritage Commission in Krakow.

The title is also intended to be an acknowledgement of the beech forest complex in the broadest sense. In addition to the beech forests of the Parco del Gargano, in fact, there are those of the Pollino, dell’Abruzzo and Casentino forests in Tuscany, and abroad the beech forests of some other European countries. In addition to Slovakia, Ukraine and Germany, there are now also beech forests in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.

The Regional Councillor for Tourism Loredana Capone has declared:

“We have always strongly believed in the naturalistic value of the Umbra Forest because it represents one of the symbols of the Gargano National Park to which the whole community is deeply tied”.

The extraordinary biodiversityà of the zone, in fact, has represented an’important resource for studies of international relief: Stefan Schnitzer, for example, professor of the department of Biological Sciences of the Universityà of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (United States of America), has wanted to observe the lianas of the Gargano in order to compare them to those of the tropical forests.

Antonio Nicoletti, National Manager of protected areas and biodiversity; of Legambiente added:

“This recognition is also the result of teamwork carried out by the protected areas, carried out in recent years, which has also seen the collaboration of the University of Tuscia and has been appropriately supported by the Directorate General for the Protection of Nature of the Ministry of the Environment. This work has proved to be successful in getting the recognition of the great biological and natural value of these places

A great victory for the Gargano National Park and, more generally, for Puglia and we at Borghi Magazine, always proud to promote the beauty of the Italian territory, we could not help but make you share this fantastic news.