Parco naturale La Mandria | |
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Location | Piedmont |
Nearest city | Turin |
Area | 6,571.00 ha |
Established | 1978 |
Governing body | Ente di gestione delle aree protette dei Parchi Reali |
La Mandria Regional Park is a park in the comuni of Venaria Reale and Druento, near Turin, northern Italy. Founded in 1978 by the regional council of Piedmont, it occupies a wide area between the Stura di Lanzo torrent and the north-western part of Turin and Venaria.
It is the second largest enclosed park in Europe, with a surface of some 3,000 hectares, bounded by a 30 km long wall built in the mid-19th century by Victor Emmanuel II, who had moved to the castle here (the Borgo Castello) the residence of his morganatic wife, Rosa Vercellana. The park included one of the last relics of the large forest which once covered the whole Po Plain. Fauna includes wild boars and deer. The park has also breeds of horse races which are considered in risk of extinction. There are many accesses to the park: the gate of the avenue Bella Rosina, Fiano and the gates of Robassomero: Oslera Cascina, Cascina La Falchetta and Royal Park I Roveri, and of course those from Turin.