The prestigious certificate is recalled thanks to the commitment of the extraordinary commissioner of the Aspromonte National Park Authority Renato Carullo and all the staff of theAspromonte Geopark., of the Ministry of the Environment, of local admirations, as well as environmental associations that collaborating with the body promote and animate the territory of the park.
The UNESCO World Geoparci Council has confirmed the status of Aspromonte Geopark within the world network which, at the moment, certifies 213 in the world and 12 in Italy. Aspromonte’s Geoparco had entered 2021 in the global UNESCO Geoparci network. The result achieved, once again, from the Aspromonte National Park Authority and the Aspromonte Geopark has an extraordinary importance and was not at all obvious, given the condition of extraordinary commissioner in which the body has been working since February 2024.
Despite this, the commitment made by the extraordinary commissioner Renato Carullo, by all the staff of the Aspromonte Geopark, composed of Sabrina Scalera, Luca Pelle, Giorgio Cotroneo and Francesca De Lorenzo, of the Ministry of the Environment, of the local admirations, as well as the environmental associations that collaborating with the body promote and animate the territory of the park, led to the recalidation of the certification that comes after the inspection of the UNESCO commissioners held last July. The welcome, attention and paths proposed to the UNESCO inspectors have therefore convinced the Commission to maintain the Aspromontal territory within the network of the best geoparcians in the world.
For UNESCO, the world geoparks that enjoy certification, explore, develop and celebrate the links between their geological heritage and all the other aspects of their natural and cultural heritage. They reconnect the human society with the history of our planet through 4,600 million years that have shaped every place on earth and every form of life that has ever lived there. Aspromonte Geopark stands out for its particular geology, the result of a geodynamic evolution that began more than 500 million years ago and still in progress. Its unique landscape derives from the set of mountains, ridges and plateaus that alternate with deep valleys carved by the “row”, which over time have modeled the hard rock of the crystalline-metamorphic substrate and created spectacular waterfalls. It should not be forgotten that the exceptional geomorphology of Geoparco allows a 360 degree view of the Strait of Messina, Etna, the Aeolian Islands, of the Greek Calabrian territories, the territory of Locri and the plain of Gioia Tauro.
Aspromonte Geopark was awarded a recognition that will have to be recalled in two years, with the commitment to complete some recommendations indicated by the Commission. Commissioner Carullo stressed that he had given his best for the achievement of this result, despite a series of operational difficulties, and is already carrying out the prescribed indications, enhancing, once again, the staff inside the Park Authority, prepared and competent, and overcoming the deficiencies that existed at the time of his settlement.