Parco del Roccolo

Across the vast, fertile plains of the Po Valley lies Parco del Roccolo, a hidden gem nestled between the Olona and Ticino rivers. Parco del Roccolo isn’t just a park. It’s a testament to the delicate balance between nature and human intervention. Established in 1991, this 1,595-hectare park sprawls across several municipalities in the province of Milan. The park’s name, “Roccolo,” comes from a historical bird trapping technique. Imagine a three-story tower hidden within an oval clearing, camouflaged amongst the vegetation. Hunters would use this structure, also called a “Roccolo,” to capture birds, a practice now outlawed. Parco del Roccolo protects a diverse range of habitats. Roughly 80% of the park is dedicated to agriculture, with fields of corn, wheat, oats, barley, soybeans, and fodder stretching as far as the eye can see. This agricultural landscape is teeming with life. Foxes, hares, pheasants, hedgehogs, thrushes, larks, and voles call these fields home. But Parco del Roccolo is more than just farmland. Within the park, you’ll discover pockets of woodland, havens of biodiversity amidst the cultivated fields. Here, amongst the ailanthus, robinia, late cherry, and red oak trees, you might spot shrews, dormice, reddish voles, owls, tawny owls, sparrowhawks, and woodpeckers. The hedges that mark the boundaries between fields and woods provide shelter and sustenance for lizards, slow worms, green whip snakes, weasels, dormice, kestrels, owls, red-backed shrikes, wrynecks, and turtledoves. These hedges are bustling with activity, alive with the buzz of insects and the rustling of small creatures. While Parco del Roccolo lacks natural bodies of water, the Villoresi Canal, an intricate irrigation network, provides a vital lifeline for the park’s ecosystem. Along its banks and those of its secondary canals, like the Corbetta Canal, life flourishes. Herons, mallards, moorhens, bitterns, water rails, and reed buntings gather near the water’s edge. Artificial lakes, formed from former quarries, also dot the landscape, offering additional habitats for aquatic life and migratory birds. As you explore Parco del Roccolo, imagine the journey of the rivers Olona and Ticino, carrying debris from the alpine valleys thousands of years ago. This debris formed the very foundation of this landscape. From the birch and conifer forests of the post-glacial period to the broadleaf trees that followed, Parco del Roccolo has witnessed a continuous dance between nature and human activity. So, as you stand at the edge of Parco del Roccolo, remember its layered history. It’s a place where the whispers of ancient forests mingle with the sounds of modern agriculture. It’s a testament to the resilience of nature and the importance of preserving these pockets of biodiversity for generations to come.