You can breathe an atmosphere of unique refinement in this elegant green area just outside Parma. Characterised by large woodlands, meadows, fields and small artificial reflecting pool – created for landscape design and irrigation purposes between the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s – the Carrega Woods Regional Park is an oasis of tranquility, a hideaway from the traffic of the city, where you can reset your mental and physical well-being in the midst of nature.
It is no coincidence, in fact, that ever since the time of the Farnese, the nobility of Parma have chosen these hills as their place of recreation, especially for hunting, and for long holiday periods in their countryside villas.
As a testament to this, the park contains important architectural features, such as the Villa Casino dei Boschi, one of the most beautiful regional residences, made in the eighteenth century by the French architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot on behalf of Maria Amalia, daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria.
The park is an extraordinary landscape, natural and cultural resource for environmental education and tourism. Even today, its abundant fauna continues to be one of its greatest treasures. Among oak and chestnut groves, native hardwood and exotic coniferous trees, a large number of roe deer and many other small mammals (badgers, porcupines, large dormice, foxes, weasels, etc.) find refuge. There are many types of birds, too (red woodpeckers, green woodpeckers, goshawks, sparrowhawks), as well as amphibians and reptiles, such as the rare European pond turtle.
The rolling hills interspersed with woods and grassland areas offer the possibility to take pleasant rides and walks along the well-beaten paths. Visitors have different itineraries available to them, among which the most popular is the one that runs through the centuries-old “Beechwood of Maria Amalia” and the “Monumental Garden”.
Cycling enthusiasts, on the other hand, can try their hand at the long bike ride that connects this area with the Taro Park Cycle-Path.
