Brianza Parks: Curone Park

In the discovery of the natural environments of the Montevecchia Regional Park

The Montevecchia and Valle del Curone Regional Park is one of the greenest and most wonderful parks in the Brianza area.

It extends for about 2740 hectares and is divided between the following municipalities: Cernusco Lombardone, Lomagna, Merate, Missaglia, Montevecchia, Olgiate Molgora, Osnago, Perego, Rovagnate, Sirtori and Viganò.

 

It is a very varied national park where you can find many very different pristine environments but also areas for agricultural use. It is one of the last “naturalistic” parks before the start of the Milanese metropolitan area.

The natural environments to be visited include three very precise types: the petrifying springs (sorgenti petrificanti), the meadows (prati magri) and the hygrophilous woods (boschi igrofili).

 

The springs and woods of the Montevecchia Regional Park

Sorgenti Petrificanti

Along the streams and brooks, porous layers of limestone are formed above the rocks due to the constant flow of water filled with minerals and also encouraged by the presence of small cascades where the phenomenon is accentuated.

In these habitats, large quantities of mosses can be found.

There are two particular areas to be visited: The Malgoretta springs in the town of Missaglia and Riunione in the town of Montevecchia.

Prati Magri

These are semi-natural areas which form an ideal habitat for many species of plants and insects, such as orchids and butterflies. This type of land is quite rare at low altitudes and this gives the regional park added value.

This is a transit area between different environments, from uncultivated meadows to wooded areas, where the ideal conditions are created for some species of birds that are particularly rare in this area. Of fundamental importance for the development of this habitat are the grasses present among the vineyards and meadows.

Boschi Igrofili

These are woods located on soil rich in water where stagnations are also sometimes present.
The rarity of this type of woods comes from the fact that over the centuries areas of this type have been cleared by humans to use the land for agriculture or for other purposes. It is therefore important to conserve the few remaining types of hygrophilous woods.

 

In these woods there are numerous trees (Black Alder, Elm and Robinia) and also different types of animals that have their natural habitat precisely in marshy or watery areas: Frogs, Salamanders and Newts.

We recommend visiting the northern part of the Valle del Curone and the part close to the Montevecchia sports fields.

Why visit the Valle del Curone Regional Park?

The park is one of the last remaining natural environments at low altitude in Lombardy and it is important to ensure that this environment remains accessible to all citizens who, with increasing urbanisation in modern times, are losing the opportunity of coming into contact with nature and seeing how flora and fauna live freely in that environment.

 

In these locations, school teachers and families can easily teach environmental respect to children and trekking enthusiasts can follow different fascinating paths. For these reasons the Brianza parks are among the favoured destinations for those wanting to escape the stress of modern metropolises.